Nobody's Home
by nukagirl
Summary: Blaine just wanted to go home, play his guitar and then go to bed. However, his father had completely different ideas, as he shoved the picture of Kurt and him kissing in Blaine's face. He finds himself homeless, broken and alone.
1. Chapter 1

**This story is set just after the events of Original Song. Hope you enjoy it **

"What is this?" a roar echoed towards Blaine as he entered his house. He had just got back from school after staying late to study, and he had been hoping for a quiet evening of practicing his guitar before a nice hot shower, and then tucking into this warm bed and chatting to Kurt before he drifted into a peaceful slumber. Blaine's father however had other ideas.

The tall man was standing just inside the door, towering over Blaine as the smaller male stepped into the house. He was a big man; a result of a short career in American football. He was holding a picture in his hand, shoving it in Blaine's face.

Blaine felt a rush of fear as he realised it was a picture of him and Kurt kissing at a park. Mercedes had taken it when they hadn't been looking and given it to Blaine. He had kept it hidden in his room.

"Why were you in my room?" Blaine asked, trying not to let his fear show. His father's eyes seemed to glow red.

"It's my fucking house!" he roared, "I go where I fucking want!" Blaine took a step back as spit flew out of the man's mouth. Blaine didn't dare make a move to wipe the saliva off his face though.

"You didn't answer my question!" the man shoved the picture in Blaine's face again, forcing Blaine to look away. He sighed.

"He's my boyfriend" he finally answered, his voice low. The man slammed his fist against the wall next to Blaine's face. Blaine flinched, his heart pounding. He heard a noise from the staircase and looked over, past his angry father. At the top of the staircase watching the scene was his little sister; Amber. She had blonde curls falling around her face and her brown eyes were wide in horror. She was 11 years old but looked so much younger with her eyes so big and moist.

"How dare you!" their father growled in a low voice.

"What?" Blaine asked, shaking.

"Don't act a fool!" his dad scowled his fist curling, "I thought this whole gay thing was you spiting me and your mother, but now it's gone too far! First you drive your mother out and now this!" the man took a step back, fury in his eyes as he clutched his fists so tight his knuckles turned white.

"I didn't drive Mum out; you did with your temper!" Blaine retorted, anger boiling within him. His father looked at him for a second before drawing his clutched fist back and hitting Blaine in the face. Amber yelled as Blaine fall backwards into the wall and slipped down a few inches. He held his nose, which was bleeding though his fingertips.

"Amber, get to your room!" his father yelled. Amber, who was crying, hesitated.

"NOW!" the man yelled, shaking the whole house. The young girl jumped in fright and run out of sight. Blaine looked at his father, fear and anger in his eyes.

"You should have never gone to that school!" his father yelled as Blaine's blood dripped onto the floor, "It just made you more gay!" Blaine moved backwards away from his father as he spoke.

"You can't make someone more gay"

"If you had gone to a normal school then you would have met girls and you wouldn't be a fucking fag!"

"I tried going out with girls Dad!" Blaine yelled, making his way into the kitchen. He grabbed some kitchen roll and held it up to his nose. His father followed him, still clutching his fists.

"If you had tried harder then it would have worked!" he yelled. Blaine turned away from his father and spat into the sink. He looked at the tissue which was already soaked red.

"Dad, I'm gay. You're going to have to accept it because I'm not changing" Blaine told his father. Suddenly he felt large hands on his shoulders and he was spun round and thrown across the room. He hit a table hard and a cry of pain escaped his mouth.

"I'm not having you spitting on the Bible and setting a bad example for your sister anymore!" his father yelled, grabbing Blaine's arm and dragging him out of the room. The grip was tight and Blaine felt like his arm was going to snap.

"What are you doing?" Blaine yelled, struggling to get out of his father's hold.

"I'm not having a fag live in my house anymore!" his father answered, his voice full of fury. The word 'fag' echoed in Blaine's ears and tears jumped to his eyes.

"You can't just throw me out!" Blaine protested, "I'm your son!"

"You're no son of mine!" his father growled. They reached the stairs and he throw Blaine towards them. Another cry of pain leapt from Blaine's lips as he hit the wooden steps.

"You have twenty minutes to get your crap and leave!" His father roared, watching Blaine struggle to get up and stumble up the steps. Blaine ran into his room, holding his chest and panting. He looked around his room for a second, panic running through him. He ran to his wardrobe, throwing the doors open and grabbing the two suitcases from the bottom. He opened both of them and threw clothes in them. He tipped out his drawers and got all his school books and chucked them on top of the unfolded messy clothes. He grabbed his laptop and all the chargers he needed.

"Blaine?" a soft cry called out from the door. Amber was standing there looking at him. Her eyes were red and her cheeks wet. Blaine crossed the room and enveloped her into a hug. They were both shaking.

"Amber, you have to go back to your room" Blaine told her, bending down so they were eye to eye.

"I don't want you to go" Amber cried, looking at him with sad, terrified eyes.

"I know, I don't want to go either but I can't stay here" Blaine told her, "You have my cell number, call me whenever you need me" Amber nodded, holding onto Blaine's arm. It was a different sort of grip than the one his father used. This one was tight but in desperation and worry; not anger and hurt. Blaine kissed her forehead.

"Go to your room Amber, and don't come out until Dad's calmed down" Amber nodded, tears falling down her cheeks. She let go and left. Blaine sighed, still shaking.

"Five minutes!" his father yelled up the stairs. Blaine wiped his face before zipping up his suitcases and running down the stairs with them. He threw them out of the door and ran back upstairs. He grabbed his guitar case, which held his acoustic guitar, and his quilt and pillows. He looked around his room. He still had a lot of things in there but he didn't have time to grab them. He let out a sigh and turned to leave his room. He jumped back as he saw his father standing behind him.

"Time's up"

"I'm leaving" Blaine hissed back, trying to shove past his father.

"Let me help you" his father snarled, grabbing the $500 guitar and throwing it down the stairs. Blaine watched as it went flying through the air. It hit the ground causing the case to break open to reveal a very lucky unhurt guitar. Blaine looked at it in horror before he felt hands push him and he went sailing down the stairs. Pillows flew out of his hands as he tried to stop himself falling. His chin hit a step and he rolled over the last few before he landed on his guitar case. Blaine could not breathe for a couple of seconds as he sat up. A splitting pain went through his chest as he tried to breathe and as he pushed himself up pain shot through his wrist.

"Get out!" His father shouted. Blaine stumbled around, picking up his things as he heard his father coming down the stairs. Without looking at his father, Blaine rushed out of the house, knowing outside in the sight of his neighbours his father couldn't do anything. Fear still rushed through the young boy as he rushed to his car. The keys wouldn't fit in the lock in Blaine's panic and a cry escaped his lips. He finally managed to unlock the door and he threw the guitar and the now dirty bed wear in the back. He dumped the two suitcases into the boot before rushing to the front seat and pulling away.

As soon as his wheels were away from the kerb, tears made their way through Blaine's barrier and poured down his face. The tears felt hot against his cold cheeks and they made the dried blood on Blaine's face drip again. Blaine didn't move to wipe them though. His heart was pounding as Blaine drove away from his home. The house he grew up in. Had his first birthday in and the street he met his childhood friend in. The garden where he had played with his sister.

Blaine's tears grew heavier as he got further and further away. The tears began to fog his vision so he pulled into a petrol station and into a parking space. Once the ignition was off, Blaine lent his head onto his steering wheel and let the tears flow and the sobs escape his throat. Pain shot through his chest as the sobs shook his whole body.

_Calm down_, Blaine thought, holding his chest as he struggled to breathe. His father's face kept flashing in front of his eyes. The anger. The hate. The madness. Blaine's ears were ringing with his father's voice and his sister's cries, and his head was spinning. He looked up into his mirror and was shocked at the person staring back. There was blood covering half his face and the other half was bruised and purple. Blaine touched just under his left eye and winced as pain shot through his face. He sighed and looked down to his blazer which was soaked in blood. Blaine cursed because it was his only blazer. He went to take it off but yelped as pain went through his chest and right wrist.

"Ouch" he whimpered, breathing slowly. He got out of the car and slowly took his blazer off, trying not to move too much and unable to use his right hand. Blaine tore off his tie, which was also covered in blood, as he noticed he was getting looks from people in the patrol station. His white shirt was dyed red and it was sticky against his skin. He noticed a woman and a little boy walking back to their car. The boy pointed at Blaine, his eyes wide. The woman looked shocked and picked the boy up, hurrying back to the car whilst shielding the boy's eyes. Blaine slammed the car door shut and went to his boot, feeling angry. While he was fishing around for a clean t-shirt, he felt a tap on his back. Blaine jumped, spinning around and holding his chest. It was the woman.

"Are you ok?" she asked. Blaine noticed she had kind eyes which were full of concern. He lowered his head, staring at his feet.

"Yeah...thanks"

"Did someone hurt you?" the woman asked, putting a hand on Blaine's arm; a gentle grip, "Should I call the Police" Blaine shook his head, panic rising in him again. He looked back up.

"No...I just fell over" he told her, "I hit my nose on the kerb but I didn't realise how much I was bleeding until I was driving" Blaine moved backwards so the woman's hand fell from his arm.

"It looks like you should go to the hospital, it looks pretty bad" Blaine shut his boot and conquered up the best smile it could.

"I'm fine, I just need to clean up" he said, "Thank you though" the woman smiled back, however she still looked concerned. She returned to her car. Blaine closed his eyes briefly before locking his car and walking over to the petrol station.

"Dude; your face! Do you want me to call you an ambulance?" the teenager behind the till asked.

"No, its fine" Blaine sighed, "Do you have a restroom I can clean up in?" the teenager pointed to a door behind some selves and Blaine followed his finger, entering a small, dingy toilet.

He cleaned all the blood off his face and looked in the mirror. He still looked a mess, with his left eye bruised and swollen. His face was purple and blue, like some kind of dark painting. His nose was swollen and red, but wasn't a weird shape so Blaine hopefully assumed it wasn't broken. He very carefully took his shirt off, the smell of blood making him feel sick. The right side of his chest was swollen, with a massive bruise covering the swollen area. It was clean that at least one rib was broken. His right wrist was also swollen and tender to touch. Blaine sighed heavily as he realised it was probably broken too.

Anger filled him as his father's laugh filled his head. Blaine wasn't ashamed of who he was and no one could ever change that. He hated his father for not accepting him and doing this to him, and for making Amber cry. Blaine felt sad as he thought of Amber. He hoped she would be ok.

Blaine put the t-shirt on, wincing as he raised his arms to do so. His phone started to ring as he carefully lowered the t-shirt over his torso. The ring tone 'Teenage Dream', told him it was Kurt. Blaine answered, leaning against the sink.

"Hey Honey, me and Finn are popping in Pirates of the Caribbean, wanna come snuggle while watching sexy pirates?" Kurt asked, his cheerful voice making Blaine smile slightly. For a split second Blaine considered telling him. Kurt was probably the only person who would take him in right now.

"Eh... No... Sorry, I have some homework to do." Blaine replied quietly.

"Oh, ok." Kurt said, sounding disappointed, "Are you in a bathroom? Your voice is echoing."

"Yeah, I... I just got out the shower" Blaine made up, looking up at his reflection. Blaine decided he needed a shower as he looked at his hair. It was sticking up at weird angles, the gel holding thick parts together.

"So are you wet and naked?" Kurt joked. Surprised by this, Blaine took a second longer to answer.

"I... I guess so." There was a short pause on the other end. Blaine found himself wanting to hear Kurt's voice again.

"Are you ok?" Kurt finally asked, "You sound really down."

_Tell him_, a voice inside Blaine's head said.

"I..." Blaine started, hesitating.

"Blaine?"

_Tell him. _

"I... I'm fine, just... tired and stressed about the exam" Blaine lied, closing his eyes and leaning his head down.

"Ok, get some rest then." Kurt tried to comfort, "You'll do fine in the exam, you know that"

"Yeah..."

"Call me if you need anything, Honey" Kurt said, "Goodnight"

"... Goodnight" Blaine reopened his eyes as he heard the call end, and took a shaky sigh. He briefly looked at the time and was surprised to see it was 9pm. Blaine threw the web of paper towels he had been using to clean his face into the bin, along with his now ruined shirt, before leaving the bathroom and going back to his car. His body seemed to be on autopilot as he pulled out of the petrol station and onto the road.

The reason Blaine hadn't told Kurt was because he felt that Kurt had enough to deal with at the moment, and it wasn't like they had been going out for long, only a couple of weeks. Blaine didn't actually know how Kurt felt about him and turning up homeless on Kurt's doorstep might just end up in Blaine being rejected again.

And Blaine didn't know how much more rejection he could take. Blaine felt sick as he realised that there was no one he could really call. He felt so pathetic and lonely.

Without realising it, Blaine arrived at Dalton. Blaine looked up at the large, mansion like building as he drove up the drive way and into the parking lot. Dalton had been the first place where he had felt safe. The first place where he had felt like he belonged. The first place that had accepted him.

It only made sense that his mind had subconsciously led him here.

Blaine pulled into a parking lot, under the shelter of some trees, wincing as he used his hand to change gear. Blaine couldn't go into the school. Teachers and prefects mentored the halls for the boarding students and all the outdoor doors would be locked soon. Blaine hadn't been able to afford boarding fees, no matter how much he worked or saved. The difference in cost was incredible and only the students whose parents were extremely well off could afford it. Blaine could only afford day tuition because his late Grandmother had left him a large sum of money for him in his will.

As soon as Blaine turned off his engine he felt extremely tired and worn out. The pain in his chest, head and wrist seemed to be draining all his energy. Blaine got out of the front seat and climbed into the back, wedging himself in-between the back of the seat and the guitar which was on the floor. Wincing as he lent against seat buckles, Blaine laid down on the back seat, the pillows underneath his head.

When Blaine was buying his first car, he was originally going to go with a small, cheaper car. However when he had seen this car, which was long and made a massive boot, he had thought it would be great for transporting his nonexistent band to and from gigs. So Blaine had bought it. Amber had joked that he could live in it if need be. Well, the need had come.

Kurt had been shocked when he had first seen it, because it was a beat up second hand thing, not like the smart, new cars most people had at Dalton. However, all their cars where bought for them by their parents. Blaine always proudly announced that he had bought his car himself with his own money.

Blaine covered himself with his duvet, pulling it up over his head so his whole body was hidden. Trying to ignore the pain he felt everywhere, Blaine took out his iPod and turned on the recording of 'Blackbird' he forced Kurt to make for him. He closed his eyes as Kurt's voice filled his ears.

Hidden and broken, Blaine fall asleep listening to Kurt's soft voice.

**End of first chapter. I hope you like it. Please review. I love reviews! I am a British author by the way, so if there are any words or phases that I have used that you don't understand please ask me. **


	2. Chapter 2

Blaine jumped awake as the sun filled his car. He yelped in pain as the sudden movements sent daggers through his chest. As he moved to clutch his chest he hit his wrist on his hard guitar case and a much louder, more painful scream erupted from his mouth. Tears leapt to his eyes as he looked at his wrist. It was swollen and red, and a bruise had formed around the area. Blaine felt sick as he realised it was now bending at a weird angle. Tearing his eyes away from his deformed wrist, he looked at his phone. The time was 6:30am. He was surprised he had managed to sleep for so long and a nagging thought in the back of his head was telling him it was because he passed out.

Blaine ran a hand through his hair and groaned as he felt the hard, greasy gel still in there. He needed a shower, he told himself. Blaine tried not to think about yesterday as he climbed out of his car and went to the boot. He just tried to focus on the task ahead. Another groan escaped Blaine's lips as he realised he hadn't grabbed his wash bag in his hurry. He had no shower gel, shampoo, tooth paste, or one of his most beloved procession; his hair gel.

Grabbing a shirt, a new pair of trousers, and a clean tie, Blaine shut his boot and made his way across the gravelled car park. He kept his right arm glued to his stomach as he made his way to the changing rooms. The halls were quiet as he walked through the school. He couldn't stand the silence so started singing to himself quietly under his breath. He sang 'Candles' and even though it was no more than a whisper, the words bounced off the walls along with his footsteps.

The changing rooms seemed even emptier and Blaine gave up on the singing as the energy slowly drained him.

The good thing about going to private school was that they provided some resources, such as shower gel in the showers. Blaine slowly stripped off, leaving his clothes on a bench nearest the shower, before turning on the taps and leaning into the water.

It was 7:30am when Kurt got the text from Blaine. He had been waiting for Blaine outside their favourite coffee shop with their usual orders in his hands. They always met there in the morning and took it in turns to drive to school.

'_I need your help' _the text said. Kurt frowned as he read it.

'_What with?'_ Kurt text back, thinking it might have something to do with homework.

'_I just need you to meet me; please I really need your help' _

At this Kurt became worried. It sounded urgent and Kurt thought Blaine might be in trouble.

'_Where are you?' _

'_Dalton, changing rooms' _

Kurt rushed to his car and jumped in; worry running through every inch of his body. Why was he there? It was an unlikely place to be this early in the day.

Within twenty minutes, Kurt was pulling up in Dalton car park and dodging students to get to the changing rooms.

Blaine was the only person in there, sitting alone on a bench. Kurt stopped for a second to take in the sight. His hair was wet and curls stuck to his forehead and the back of his neck. His face was bruised and one eye was swollen, the other eye looking at the ground blankly. His shirt was unbuttoned and Kurt could see that a large portion of his torso was bruised and swollen. Black, blue and purple decorating Blaine's smooth skin. Kurt rushed over to him.

"Oh my God! Blaine, what happened?" Kurt gasped, kneeling down in front of him. He noticed that Blaine's trousers were undone as well. "Blaine, did… did someone…?"

Blaine shook his head.

"No, I fell down the stairs" he told Kurt, as a shaky sigh escaped him, "I had a shower here and I couldn't do up my buttons… I think my wrist is broken" he held out his wrist to show Kurt. It looked so sore that Kurt didn't dare touch it. He looked at Blaine shocked.

"Why did you shower here?"

Blaine looked back at the floor, his expression still blank and emotionless. It made a chill go down Kurt's back as he put a hand on Blaine's leg, which he could feel was damp through the fabric.

"My sister was in the shower when I got up, I overslept and I thought I was going to be late" Blaine explained, wincing suddenly and holding his chest.

"Why didn't you go to the hospital when this happened?" Kurt asked, "When did it happen?"

"Last night and I didn't think it was that bad" Blaine replied.

"Blaine! Your wrist is broken and it looks like at least two ribs are broken, and your face! You could have concussion" Kurt told Blaine, worry still going through him. He began to button up Blaine's shirt, making sure to be careful as he did so. He then did up Blaine's trouser fly. Under any normal circumstances both boys would be blushing right now, but all Kurt was concentrating on was getting Blaine to a hospital. And Blaine seemed caught up in his own thoughts.

"Where are we going?" Blaine asked as Kurt helped him up.

"To the hospital"

"What! Why?" Blaine asked. Kurt gave him an are-you-stupid look.

"Because you are injured and that's what injured people do" he explained.

"I'm fine, I don't need to go" Blaine said, taking a step back and looking at the floor. Kurt thought he looked like a small, lost puppy that had just been kicked by its master. It made him went to cry. He took a step towards Blaine, taking his left hand. Blaine took a sharp breath in at the shock of the grip. It was loving and caring. It was Kurt's.

"If you leave your wrist like it is then it could damage your guitar playing skills, and broken ribs can be fatal, you need to go get checked out" Kurt said quietly and calmly. Blaine looked up at him and Kurt show tears glisten in the brown orbs.

"Will you come with me?" Blaine asked. Kurt nodded, gently kissing Blaine's forehead.

"Of course"

After telling Blaine to keep his wrist against his stomach, Kurt led Blaine outside and to his car. Blaine stared out of the window for the whole car journey and only looked up as Kurt pulled into the ER. He looked up at the hospital blankly as Kurt got out and walked round to the passenger side. Silently, Kurt opened the door and held out his hand. Blaine looked at him, hesitating for a second, before reaching out his left hand and allowing Kurt to guide him out.

Blaine didn't say a word as Kurt wrapt an arm around him and led him through the large automatic doors of the hospital. Blaine didn't pay attention as Kurt spoke to a nurse, explaining what he thought had happened and when. Blaine didn't really care as another nurse lead them into a ward and Kurt guided him onto a bed. His mind came back to the present as Kurt's hands left his skin and warm from Blaine's body seemed to disappear. He whimpered, looking up at Kurt who was still talking to the nurse. Kurt didn't seem to realise that he really needed to feel him right now.

"Should I call your Dad?" Kurt asked suddenly, turning to look at him. Panic arose in Blaine like a firework.

"No!" he replied, his voice shaky and loud. Both Kurt and the nurse looked at him, shocked. "He… he is at work" Blaine said, quickly and firmly. "He has a very important meeting."

"Ok, well the doctor should be here soon," the nurse told them, a kind but concerned smile on her face. "Just stay here."

Blaine suddenly felt Kurt's warmth again as he placed his hand on Blaine's.

"Do you want me to get your anything?" Kurt asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. Blaine tried to smile at him but it didn't quite work. He didn't want to speak or even open his mouth as he was scared that he would burst into tears if he did. Instead, Blaine just shook his head. Kurt gave his hand a slight squeeze and smiled gently at Blaine, stroking a few loose strands of Blaine's hair back off his forehead. Blaine closed his eyes at the touch, leaning into it.

A doctor came up to the bed about ten minutes later, holding up a clipboard and a pen. He looked at Blaine's face and an eyebrow rose. "So you fell down the stairs?"

Blaine nodded, but he could see the doctor looking right through his lie.

"Ok, let's take a look then." The doctor said, setting down his clipboard and walking over to Blaine. Kurt moved aside, letting go off Blaine's hand again. The doctor helped Blaine take his shirt off and examined his chest and wrist.

"How did you fall down the stairs?" the doctor asked, gently touching Blaine's wrist. Wincing, Blaine replied,

"I was taking my guitar case downstairs last night and I tripped, fell down the stairs and landed on my guitar case."

"How comes you didn't come to hospital last night?" the doctor asked, gently placing his wrist down.

"I didn't think it was that bad." Blaine sighed, already fed up of all the lying he was doing.

"Your wrist is bending at an angle and you didn't think it was that bad?" the doctor asked, surprised.

"It wasn't like that last night, it was just swollen." Blaine explained, "I hit it today and it went like that." Kurt sucked in his breath and tensed beside Blaine. Even the doctor winced slightly at that thought. He then started to examine Blaine's face. His hands were cold through the rubber gloves.

"I hit my face on the case." Blaine mumbled, looking down as the doctor looked at his swollen eye. His face was so close it made Blaine feel claustrophobic and sick.

"How did you hit your chin?" the doctor asked, looking at a deep bruise Blaine didn't realise he had.

"I hit it on one of the steps." Blaine answered. The doctor frowned and gently placed his hand on the back of Blaine's neck.

"I'm just going to lie you down, try not to move your head." the doctor said. Blaine obeyed and let the doctor slowly lower him backwards. Once Blaine's head was on the mattress, the doctor told the nurse to get a neck brace.

"A what?" Blaine asked, shocked as the nurse rushed off. He tried to get back up.

"You need to stay down Blaine." the doctor firmly said, placing a hand either side of Blaine's face to keep him still.

"What's happening?" Blaine asked, still trying to get up.

"Because of the way you landed your neck may have broken." the doctor explained as the nurse rushed back over to them, holding a plastic neck brace.

"I want to go." Blaine cried out, making Kurt's heart feel heavy. He had never seen someone looking so scared and lost. Tears were streaming down Blaine's face and he was fighting hard to get out of the doctor's grip. Blaine's arm flew out and in his struggle he hit it against a metal table that was next to the bed. The metal table fell over, clattering on the floor as an agonising scream filled the whole ward. Blaine held his arm against him as he struggled to breathe from the pain.

Kurt rushed to his side and took his left hand and putting his other hand on Blaine's forehead.

"Shh, Blaine, it's going to be ok." Kurt told him, trying to smooth him, "Look at me." Blaine, whose eyes had been rushing around the room, did as he was told as the nurse put an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose. He was shaking and tears were still running down his face, but as soon as his eyes found Kurt he stopped fighting.

"They are trying to help." Kurt told him, stroking his curly hair softly, "They're not going to hurt you." Blaine nodded but started shaking his body around again as the doctor tried to get the neck brace on.

"Blaine, Blaine." Kurt smoothed, holding him down gently, "Relax." He squeezed Blaine's hand, just looking at him. Blaine looked back, his eyes wide and full of fear. Kurt had never seen anyone like this; it confused him. Blaine was normally so put together and rational, but here he was fighting to get away from the people that was helping him, and hurting himself in the process.

"The sooner you let them help you, the sooner you can get out of here." Kurt told Blaine. Blaine calmed down slightly and tried to nod. He was unable to do so because of the doctor's hands. Blaine stayed still as the nurse put on the neck brace but his grip on Kurt's hand was tight.

"I'm going to give you some painkillers, ok?" The doctor said. Blaine hesitated before giving a small thumbs-up as he couldn't move his head and his speech was distorted from the oxygen mask. Kurt kept on stroking Blaine's hair, whose eyes closed as the nurse placed a needle into Blaine's arm.

"Are you two brothers?" He nurse asked, taking the needle out. Kurt laughed nervously and was about to answer when Blaine reached up and pulled his mask down.

"Kurt's my boyfriend." He said with anger in his voice. It took Kurt by surprise and the nurse looked a bit taken aback.

"Well, you two seem like a good match." She smiled, before walking off. The doctor wrote something on the chart as Kurt took hold of Blaine's hand and kissed his knuckles. Blaine sighed, closing his eyes. He felt tired and just wanted to sleep. He felt so constricted but he couldn't move because of the brace.

"We will get you up to x-ray as soon as we can." The doctor told them, "Stay still and don't move." He instructed. After the doctor left, Kurt lent forward, reaching out to touch Blaine's forehead.

"Are you ok Baby?" Kurt asked. Blaine opened his eyes and looked into Kurt's blue ones.

"I don't like hospitals." Blaine admitted, his voice small, "That's why I didn't come last night."

"Why don't you like hospitals?" Kurt asked, rubbing Blaine's knuckles with his thumb.

"They just remind me of death and people suffering." Blaine told him, "and I hate the smell."

"I know." Kurt mumbled.

"You won't leave me, will you?" Blaine asked, sounding almost like he was begging. He had just remembered that Kurt probably had a million more reasons to hate hospitals then him.

"Of course not." Kurt replied, "I won't leave you, I promise." He lent down and kissed Blaine's forehead. Blaine managed to give Kurt a small smile.

"I'm tired." Blaine moaned, his voice getting slurry from the painkillers.

"Go to sleep then Sweetie." Kurt smiled at him, placing a hand on Blaine's cheek. Blaine closed his eyes, his breathing becoming shallow. Kurt kept on stroking Blaine's cheek, looking at him sadly. Blaine's behaviour could be explained through the pain he was in, but there seemed to be more to it; or so Kurt thought. Blaine looked peaceful now though.

Unfortunately a nurse and a porter came over ten minutes later so Blaine's sleep was disturbed as he was taken to x-ray. Blaine didn't say anything but kept a death grip on Kurt's hand as he was pushed along a corridor and up in an elevator.

The x-ray room was dim and there was a single bed in there with a massive white machine over it, and a glass panelled area in a corner with computers and machine in it. Kurt helped transfer Blaine over to the x-ray table and kissed his forehead as an x-ray technician put the x-ray into place. Blaine was still holding Kurt's hand tightly.

"You need to come behind the glass panel." The nurse told Kurt. Kurt nodded as Blaine whimpered.

"No, I want him here with me." He told the nurse. Kurt bent down, close to Blaine's face so that only he could hear his words.

"I need to go over there but I promise as soon as the x-ray is over I will be back at your side." Kurt let go of Blaine's hand and stroked his cheek, "Everything is going to be ok, just close your eyes and imagine you're somewhere else, like the coffee shop." Blaine closed his eyes and Kurt kissed his cheek gently before joining the nurse and technician behind the glass panel.

Blaine tired to imagine himself at Warblers practice. He was sitting next to Kurt as they sang 'Hey Soul Sister'. They were leaning against each other and smiling. It was after Regionals so the Warblers meetings were more relaxed and Blaine had suggested they try more group songs. The whole choir was singing this song and the room was filled with music and laughter. Kurt took Blaine's hand and clapped their hands together to the rhythm of the song. They smiled at each other and Blaine felt butterflies in his stomach at Kurt's amazing smile and the happiness in his eyes.

"Ok, all done." A voice broke his thoughts. Blaine opened his eyes and Kurt was already at his side, taking his good hand. Blaine looked up at Kurt's eyes, which were heavy with concern and worry. He smiled at Blaine. Blaine wanted to smiled back, to convince Kurt he was ok, but he couldn't manage it no matter how much he tried. Because he wasn't ok, so he couldn't smile back,

Blaine continued to not speak as he was wheeled back down to the ER ward. And he still didn't let go off Kurt's hand. He felt that if he let go then Kurt might go away and leave him, or be taken from him. Kurt refused to let go as well, but Blaine didn't know his reasons. He was hoping it was because Kurt didn't want to leave him.

Blaine stared up at the ceiling until the doctor came over to them with the x-rays.

"Well, the good news is that your neck isn't broken." At that news Blaine sat up, wincing as he do so, and lent against the wall. The nurse came over and took off the neck brace.

"Two of your ribs are broken." The doctor informed Blaine, "and obviously your wrist is broken, it was a clean break but the broken bone has shifted so I'm going to have to reset it." Blaine didn't say anything but nodded. The nurse gave him some more painkillers and he sighed in relief when they kicked in, and he started to feel drowsy. He wanted to sleep but he also wanted to keep looking at Kurt, who was looking at him like he was the only person in world and was holding his hand and rubbing his arm gently.

"Sing to me." Blaine asked, speaking for the first time since the x-ray. Kurt looked at him, surprised.

"I… " Kurt hesitated, looking at the nurse and doctor.

"It's a good idea." The nurse smiled; "it will distract Blaine." Kurt looked back at Blaine, whose eyes were glossy and looked like they were just about to close.

"Ok… what do you want me to sing?" Kurt asked, stroking Blaine's cheek and smiling at him.

"Dunno." Blaine answered, leaning into Kurt's touch. The doctor started to adjust Blaine's wrist. Kurt decided on a song and started to sing it.

**What day is it?**

**And in what month?**

**This clock never seemed so alive**

**I can't keep up and I can't back down**

**I've been losing so much time**

Blaine smiled for the first time that day and closed his eyes. This was one of Blaine's favourite songs to play on his guitar. Kurt had caught him playing it on the Warblers choir room one lunch time, and had instantly fallen in love with the song as well. Blaine was sweating slightly and was very pale. He winced as the doctor moved his wrist; feeling pain even though he was pumped full of painkillers. Kurt rubbed his hand gently, still singing.

'**cause it's you and me**

**And all of the people with nothing to do**

**Nothing to lose**

**And it's you and me**

**And all the other people**

**And I don't know why**

**I can't keep my eyes off of you**

A loud crack filled the room and Blaine turned as white as a ghost. His grip on Kurt's hand was so tight that his finger nails broke skin. Kurt felt like he was going to be sick, but kept on singing, moving to sit on the edge of the bed so he was nearer to the shaking Blaine.

**Why are the things that I want to say**

**Just aren't coming out right?**

**I'm tripping on words**

**You got my head spinning**

**I don't know where to go from here**

The nurse started to cast the wrist and Blaine opened his eyes, which were moist with tears, to look at Kurt. Kurt wiped away a tear that had decided to escape, caressing Blaine's bruised face. He let their foreheads together, his words blowing softly on Blaine's face.

'**cause it you and me**

**And all of the people with nothing to do**

**Nothing to prove**

**And it's you and me**

**And all the other people**

**And I don't know why**

**I can't keep my eyes off of you**

**Something about you now**

**That I can't quite figure out **

**Everything she does is beautiful **

**Everything she does is right**

Blaine silently watched Kurt sing. He had loved Kurt's voice ever since the first time he had heard the sweet, soft sound. It made him feel so warm and Kurt's voice was so different, so perfect. The feel of Kurt's hand on his cheek felt so nice and soft, and Blaine felt safe within his touch.

'**cause it you and me**

**And all of the people with nothing to do**

**Nothing to prove**

**And it's you and me and all the other people**

**And I don't know why**

**I can't keep my eyes off of you and me**

**And all of the people with nothing to do**

**Nothing to prove**

**And it's you and me and all the other people**

**And I don't know why**

**I can't keep my eyes off of you**

**What day is it**

**And in what month?**

**This clock never seemed so alive. **

Once Kurt had finished the song, the nurse looked up from casting and said,

"That was really beautiful." Kurt smiled, drawing his head away from Blaine's and blushing, but he looked pleased at the praise.

"You should hear Blaine sing." He told her.

"Well, when you're feeling better we would love for you to come and sing to some of the patients, especially the ones in the long term wards." The nurse told them.

"That would be great." Kurt answered. Blaine didn't answer; not with it enough to focus on conversation. He lent his head against Kurt's shoulder, trying to ignore the pain in his arm and the sick feeling in his stomach.

"Ok, you just have to wait 45 minutes for this to set and then you can go." The doctor said as the nurse finished, "You are going to have to rest for a while so your ribs can heal, I would suggest taking the rest of the week off school." Blaine nodded, not really listening, and took the prescription that he was given for painkillers.

"You should come back in five weeks so we can take off the cast." The doctor told him, before leaving to see to other patients.

Blaine pulled on Kurt's arm, and Kurt took the hint and moved further up the bed so Blaine could lean against him more comfortable. The nurse, who was making notes on Blaine's chart, smiled and asked,

"How long have you been going out?"

"About 3 weeks." Kurt answered. Blaine closed his eyes and listened to the rumble of Kurt's voice.

"Really? It seems like you two have known each other forever." The nurse told them. Kurt smiled, snuggling closer to Blaine.

"Kuuurrt." Blaine said, sounding really cute and tired. Kurt laughed as the nurse left.

"Yes Blaine?" Blaine looked up at him, straining his neck and kissing Kurt's neck clumsily.

"You're cute." Blaine told him, matter-of-factly. Kurt laughed again. The painkillers were really kicking in now and having really funny side effects.

"Thank you, you're really cute as well." Kurt told him, "What do you want to do when we get out of here?" Blaine groaned, turning his head and burying it in Kurt's neck.

"I need to go shopping." He moaned.

"Shopping?" Kurt asked confused, "You can't go shopping with your injuries." Blaine looked up, his eyes wide.

"I have to, I have no hair gel!" he told Kurt, "Or shower gel, or shampoo."

"Don't you have any of this stuff at home?" Kurt asked. Blaine hesitated before shaking his head.

"Nope, and I need my hair gel, I'll diiee without my hair gel." Kurt laughed again, and kissed Blaine's forehead.

"How about this? I'll take you home and go get your stuff for you?" Kurt suggested.

"No!"Blaine said loudly, and moved away from Kurt.

"What?" Kurt asked, shocked. Blaine looked down at his lap, shaking.

"What's wrong?" Kurt asked. Blaine lent back against Kurt, keeping his eyes down at his lap but relaxing slightly.

"I don't want to go home." Blaine whispered, "Can you go back to yours?"

"Ok Baby." Kurt mumbled into his hair, "Whatever you want." Kurt frowned as Blaine played with Kurt's fingers. It just seemed weird to him; the reaction. Blaine drafted off into a half-asleep state for half an hour, while Kurt silently sat there, holding him protectively. The nurse came over to discharge Blaine just as Kurt started to drift off as well. They both woke as she walked up to the bed.

"You can't get the cast wet for 3 days." The nurse informed Blaine as she helped him off the bed, "It's probably best if you get someone else to wash your hair and stuff like that."

"Thank you." Blaine mumbled. The nurse smiled at him.

"Go get some rest." She told him. Kurt nodded and guided Blaine out off the hospital and back to the car.

"I'll take you back to mine and then I'll go to the shop and get your bits." Kurt told Blaine as he pulled back out of the car park. Blaine nodded, looking out of the window. Kurt decided to leave him be and drove home in silence. Blaine was still in a daze from the painkillers so wasn't thinking clearly about anything.

The journey was over quickly and Blaine waited for Kurt to come round to his side as his legs felt like jelly and he was sure that if he tried to get down from the car he could fall over.

"Thanks." Blaine said as Kurt held out his hand. Kurt smiled his charming smile.

"Next time I'm ill you have to come round with soup and look after me."

"Deal." Blaine smiled back, leaning heavily on Kurt. Kurt helped Blaine into the house and onto a sofa.

"Right, lie down." Kurt ordered, running to get his duvet. Blaine carefully laid down, putting his head on some cushions. Kurt's sofa was extremely comfortable; made even more so by the fact that Blaine had slept in his car last night. Kurt disappeared upstairs and Blaine closed his eyes, releasing a sigh of relief.

"Here we go." Kurt's voice reached his ears and a soft weight was dropped on his body. Blaine opened his eyes and smiled as he saw Kurt standing over him and tucking a large, warm duvet around him. Blaine didn't say anything, just enjoyed the affection. Kurt smiled back when he noticed Blaine staring up at him. Kurt then handed him the TV remote.

"Watch whatever you want and I'll be back as soon as I can." Blaine nodded, looking up longingly at Kurt. Kurt seemed to notice and lent down, kissing Blaine briefly on the lips. Just as Kurt went to straighten up, Blaine's hand shot up, grabbing Kurt's arm and holding him there. Kurt looked at him confused when Blaine didn't say nor do anything. Kurt smiled softly looking at Blaine, whose expression was unreadable. He still felt lost and he really didn't want Kurt to go, even for a little while.

"Hurry back." Blaine finally said. Kurt kissed Blaine's forehead.

"I promise." He breathed against Blaine's skin, making Blaine shiver. He let Kurt go and sighed, closing his eyes.

"Just sleep Honey, I'll be back soon." Kurt told him. He didn't have to though as Blaine had already started to drift off, thinking of Kurt's sweet tones.

_Blaine couldn't feel anything but he knew he was falling. Above him he could see the stairs and they were getting further and further away. His father appeared at the top and Blaine could see his evil snare, laughing at him as he fell. _

_Blaine hit the ground suddenly and all the breath left his body. Panting, he looked up again_

_The stairs were gone, replaced by a rectangle hole surrounded by darkness. Water was pouring through the hole in thick droplets and Blaine realised it was rain. Somebody stood over the hole, looking down at Blaine. They were wearing a black suit and holding a square bit of paper. Blaine tried to get up but couldn't move; his limbs were glued to his side and he couldn't move his head. He looked up at the figure and recognised them through the rain. It was him. He was standing over himself. _

"_I'm sorry I couldn't save you" he whispered. He dropped the piece of paper and slowly walked off. The piece of paper slowly fell down the hole and landed face down on an invisible barrier just above Blaine's face. It was a picture of him with Amber. Blaine's eyes widen in relation as another figure stood over the grave. It was their father. He was laughing again._

"_No." Blaine whispered, before screaming,_

"_NO!" _

"Noooo!"

"Blaine!" Kurt's voice filled Blaine's ears, shutting out his father's laughter. Blaine opened his eyes and realised he was still screaming.

"It's ok." Kurt told him. He was sitting next to Blaine on the couch. He caught Blaine's hands and looking at him. Blaine stopped screaming as he couldn't breathe. His chest hurt so much and he couldn't draw a breath. He began to panic, clutching his shirt. Kurt seemed to realise what was going on and rubbed Blaine's leg comfortingly.

"It's ok, Blaine, just look at me." Blaine did just that, tears forming at the corner of his eyes.

"Everything is going to be ok." Kurt told him, slowly rubbing circles on Blaine's back.

"My… chest." Blaine cried out, his hand still clutching his shirt tightly. It hurt so much; his whole torso was burning.

"I know, but you need to calm down." Kurt told him, "Just breathe." Blaine nodded, closing his eyes and slowly counting to ten.

_It was just a dream_, Blaine thought. He lent his head down, resting it against Kurt's shoulder as he tried to concentrate on his breathing. Kurt continued to draw circles on Blaine's back as Blaine's breathing became easier.

"My chest really hurts." Blaine complained, leaning back up. His voice was croaked and sore.

"I got your prescription." Kurt told him, leaning over and grabbing a bag from the floor. Inside was a box of strong painkillers.

"I'll get you some water." Kurt said, getting up and going to the kitchen. There were more bags on the floor. They looked like they had just been dumped there so Blaine assumed that Kurt had just come in.

"Here you go." Kurt smiled, giving a glass of water to Blaine. Blaine took it with a shaky hand, and swigged it back with two tablets. Kurt kneeled on the floor, his hand on Blaine's leg and looking up at his exhausted boyfriend.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kurt asked. Blaine shook his head, his hands still shaking. There was a short silence. Blaine rubbed his head, feeling a headache and Kurt slowly rubbed Blaine's leg, not wanting to pressure him into saying anything.

"What's in the bags?" Blaine asked. Kurt smiled, leaning over and dragging the bags to him.

"I got all your bits." Kurt told him, piling toiletries onto the coffee table "and then I got something that I thought might cheer you up." Kurt took out a huge chocolate fudge cake and placed it on the table. It was Blaine's favourite cake and he laughed upon seeing it.

"What do you think?" Kurt asked with a smile on his face. Blaine reached out and stroked Kurt's cheek.

"I think you're the best." Blaine told him, causing Kurt to blush. He lent into the touch, smiling at Blaine.

"Can we have it later though, because I think I might fall asleep in it if we had it now." Blaine moaned, letting his hand drop from Kurt's face and leaning back into the sofa.

"OK." Kurt laughed, "Wanna sleep on me?" Blaine sat up, inviting Kurt, who got up and sat next to Blaine, placing a cushion on his lap. Blaine laid back down, looking up his boyfriend.

"Hey." Kurt smiled down at him, placing a hand on Blaine's forehead and stroking his hair back.

"Hi." Blaine mumbled, a smile playing on his lips at the feel of Kurt's fingers in his hair. "I'm sorry about the way I was acting earlier." Blaine mumbled, looking away from Kurt and into space.

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked, frowning.

"You know… with me going all ballistic at the hospital and then going all doolally." Blaine answered, sighing in embarrassment.

"You were in shock." Kurt told him. Blaine's eyes found Kurt's.

"Really?" Blaine asked, sounding confused.

"Yeah, you fell down the stairs in the middle of the night when no one was around, breaking several bones, it's no wonder you were in shock." Kurt said, tracing a finger along Blaine's cheek as he spoke.

"But doesn't shock wear off after a couple of hours?" Blaine asked.

"Most of the time yes." Kurt answered, "But you did hit your wrist again this morning, displacing it and you've been spaced out since this morning." Blaine slowly nodded. He yawned but screwed his face up as the movement hurt his chest.

"You can sleep now Honey." Kurt told him, hating seeing him in such pain.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Blaine asked, looking like he was deep in thought.

"Because, Blaine Anderson, I am your boyfriend, and even though I've never had a boyfriend before, I heard that taken care of them when they are ill or down is a boyfriend's job." Kurt told him, "and I like looking after people, it makes me feel important."

"You are important." Blaine mumbled sleepily, his eyes closing.

"Go to sleep Sweetie." Kurt said, his tone gentle, "I'm here, I'll look after you."

"Th.. anks." Blaine mumbled before completely falling asleep. Kurt kept stroking Blaine's hair, marvelling at how curly it was. This was the first time Kurt had seen Blaine's hair without any product in. It felt so soft and Kurt was having lots of fun playing with the tight curls. He smiled softly down at Blaine, watching him sleep. He looked peaceful, compared to when Kurt had come back from the shops. Blaine had been shaking and thrusting on the coach; a horrible scream filling the room.

Kurt shivered remembering it. He decided to turn the TV on and flicked through the TV channels until he found a mini documentary on Lady Gaga. Kurt leaned back, and put his feet up on a cushioned foot rest that was in front of the sofa. Placing a hand protectively around Blaine, Kurt settled himself down.

Burt came in from work at four and looked surprised to see Kurt already home. Kurt normally didn't get in until quite late because of Warbler practice, studying and the commute from Dalton. Burt's eyes grew wide as he noticed Blaine lying on the coach, bruised and bandaged up. Kurt put a finger to his lips and then carefully got up, replacing his lap with another cushion. Kurt then led his father into the kitchen.

"What happened to Blaine?" Burt asked, sounding almost anger, "Who did this to him?" His firsts were clutched. This surprised Kurt.

"He says he fell down the stairs." Kurt sighed, leaning against a counter. Burt's firsts uncurled and he looked confused.

"You don't believe him?" He asked.

"I know there is something he is hiding." Kurt told his father, "He got these injuries last night but I was the one that took him to hospital today."

"Where were his parents?" Burt asked, looking concerned. He looked over to where the injured boy was lying.

"He lives with his Dad, and I have no idea." Kurt sighed, folding his arms; "He went smashing down the stairs with his guitar case in the middle of the night so it must have been pretty loud" he looked into the space in front of him, consumed by worry.

"Does his Father know?" Burt asked, still looking at Blaine. Kurt shook his head.

"No, Blaine didn't want to contact him and the reason he is here is because he didn't want to go home." Kurt told his father, "But that might be because his Dad is a giant homophobe and would kill Blaine if I want over there, and I think Blaine wanted to be with someone."

"His Dad would what?" Burt asked, shocked and angry again. Kurt just looked disappointed.

"It makes me feel so lucky." Kurt mumbled, looking over to Blaine as well. He was sleeping but was shaking slightly, twitching in his sleep.

"I'm not going to pressure him in saying anything." Kurt finally said, after a moment of silence, "He'll tell me what's wrong when he's ready." He pushed himself off the counter and got himself a glass of water. The front door opened and Finn came in. The sofa was facing away from the door so he couldn't see Blaine lying there. Out of habit, Finn absentmindedly threw his bag onto the sofa. A yelp filled the house, making Finn jump in fright and Kurt nearly drop his glass. Blaine jumped up, holding his chest.

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry!"

"Finn! What's wrong with you?" Kurt yelled, going into the living room.

"I didn't know." Finn tried to defend himself. He looked at Blaine, whose face was screwed up in pain.

"Dude, what happened to you?" Finn asked. Kurt sat next to Blaine, rubbing his arm. Blaine looked up, getting over his abrupt wakening.

"I fell down the stairs."

"Really?" Finn asked, picking up his bag, "It looks pretty bad."

"I'll live." Blaine smiled. This lying thing seemed to be easier.

"I really am sorry." Finn said, looking rather sheepish and guilty.

"It's fine." Blaine told him, keeping his smile on his face.

"Do you need anything?" Kurt asked. Blaine shook his head, moving so he was sitting on the coach.

"No, I think I should go though, I've wasted enough of your time."

"Don't be stupid." Kurt said, keeping his hand firmly on Blaine's leg so he couldn't get up.

"You can stay for dinner." Burt said, coming into the living room, "We're having lasagne."

"Carole and I made it last night." Kurt smiled at Blaine, "And you know how delicious my cooking is."

"I couldn't resist any meal made by you." Blaine said, glad of a reason to stay.

"Great." Burt said, "Carole is getting home at six, and we'll get dinner ready then." He came over to the boys and placed a hand on Blaine's shoulder.

"If there is anything you need, Blaine, we're here." Burt told him. Kurt smiled at his Dad gratefully.

"Thank you Mr Hummel." Blaine said, almost nervously. He wasn't used to this kind of treatment, especially from an adult. Burt let go and sat in his armchair. Kurt gave Blaine another smiled, leaning back on the sofa. Blaine followed, leaning against him. Kurt pulled the duvet over them, mostly so Blaine wasn't cold. They held hands over the duvet, and Kurt lent his head on Blaine's.

Normally they weren't this affectionate in front of other people, but Kurt enjoyed it.

"Are you sleeping again?" Kurt whispered into Blaine's hair.

"Mmm." Blaine mumbled, already asleep. Kurt kissed his hair, oblivious to his father's proud stare.

Blaine dreamt again, but he couldn't remember much of it. Just eyes. Dead eyes. Empty eyes. Blue eyes and brown eyes.

Just staring at him.

Blaine woke with a start as he heard Kurt's voice.

"Blaine, Sweetie." Kurt said, waking him up gently. Blaine was now lying down on the couch, the duvet completely covering him. Kurt was kneeling on the floor next to the sofa.

"Dinner is ready if you're hungry." Kurt told him gently. Blaine blinked, still half asleep, and looked around. The living room was empty but he could hear chatter in the dinning room.

"Yeah." Blaine said, sitting up and yawning. "Have I really slept all this time?"

"Yeah sleepy head." Kurt smiled, standing up and offering Blaine a hand. Blaine took it, getting up slowly. He felt groggy but his wrist, which seemed so weighed down, wasn't as sore. His chest still hurt when he moved though. He let Kurt led him to the dinning room, where the smell of lasagne welcomed them.

"Come seat down, Dear." Carole smiled, walking in behind them and placing a bowl of salad on the table. Kurt helped Blaine sit down in a chair next to Finn, who was shovelling lasagne onto his plate. Kurt took the dish from him before he took it all, and put a generous sharing onto Blaine's plate.

"Thanks." Blaine mumbled, shivering.

"Are you cold?" Finn asked, through a mouthful of pasta and beef. Blaine nodded, picking up his fork. He was shivering so badly that the fork cluttered against his plate. Kurt looked at him before setting down the dish and hurrying out of the room. Blaine watched him go, slightly confused in his sleepy state. Kurt came back less then a minute later with a red hoodie. He gave it to Blaine, helping him into it. Blaine smiled as Kurt did up the zip and the fleece inside warmed him up. He looked down and realised it was a Mckinley hoodie.

"I feel like I'm cheating on Dalton." Blaine mumbled, looking up at Kurt, who laughed along with everyone else at the table. Blaine picked his fork back up and looked down at his plate as everyone tucked into their dinner.

Blaine didn't know what it was; the sleepiness or the aching pain in his chest, but Blaine felt nauseous. He picked at his food, moving it slowly round his plate as everyone talked around him. It was simple things, like how everyone's day was and what happened at school and work. Blaine listened to the conversations that went across the table in silence. The atmosphere was friendly and warm, however it made Blaine want to cry. He had never had this with his family. His father had always had anger problems so dinner times were normally quiet because no one wanted to say anything that may set him off. And when his mother left, dinner times just stopped all together. Blaine and Amber would eat together but there was no sign of their father, who normally worked late or went to the bar to drink.

Blaine wondered what Amber was doing for dinner tonight. She had had to cook herself dinner increasingly more since Blaine had started at Dalton as he had spent a lot of time studying to get good grades, going to Warblers practice and recently hanging out with Kurt. A wave of guilt went over Blaine as he thought of Amber and he felt even sicker.

"You ok?" Kurt asked, disturbing Blaine's thoughts.

"Hmm?" he asked, looking up. Kurt was looking at him, his blue eyes frowning in concern.

"You haven't eaten anything." Kurt told him. Blaine looked at his plate, which has all the food smashed up but none of it was actually gone.

"I guess I'm not hungry." He answered, looking back up at Kurt, "Sorry Mrs Hummel."

"It's ok." Carole smiled, standing up and starting to clear the table.

"Can I have it then if you're not going to eat it?" Finn asked.

"You're a bottomless pit" Carole laughed as Blaine passed his plate over.

"You'll have some of your chocolate cake though, right?" Kurt asked, standing up and helping his stepmother.

"Mphm!" Finn said, his voice muffled by food.

"It's Blaine's cake so you have to ask him if you want some." Kurt told him. The look that Finn gave Blaine was priceless. His eyes were wide and his cheeks were burgling with food. Even in the state of mind that Blaine was in, he laughed.

"Yeah, its fine." He told the taller teenager, who smiled after swallowing his mouthful. Blaine went to stand to help but Burt placed a hand on his shoulder to push him back down. Blaine flinched slightly at the firm hold, resulting in Burt letting go and frowning slightly.

"You don't need to do anything." Burt told him, "We've got this sorted." Blaine looked down at his lap and nodded. He pulled the hoodie closer around him, trying to pull himself together.

"Cake." Kurt announced, coming in with the chocolate fudge cake and five plates. Blaine didn't look up as Kurt served the cake, instead playing with a loose thread from the hoodie. Kurt sat down a large piece of cake in front of Blaine and he looked at it. Normally he would be shoving it down in such a fashion that would rival Finn. But at that moment Blaine really didn't want to touch it.

"You better eat it before Finn eats it." Burt told Blaine as everyone tucked it. Even Kurt, who hated foods like this, was digging in. Blaine picked up his fork and poked the cake. He sighed, shovelling a bit of the cake onto his fork and looked at it. He didn't notice that there were three sets of eyes on him; the expectation being Finn who was concentrating on his cake.

"You need to eat something." Kurt whispered to Blaine, leaning over to him and placing a hand on his leg. Blaine looked at him, slightly confused. It was then he noticed the worried looks on Kurt's and his parents' faces. Blaine smiled at Kurt; a smile that didn't reach his eyes. He took the fork and put the food into his mouth. It tasted too sweet and sticky and he thought he was going to throw up. He chewed it slowly, his throat too dry to shallow.

"Yum." Blaine said weakly, putting his fork back down and looking down at his lap. Kurt looked disappointed but didn't say anything else.

Finn finished off Blaine's slice of cake as everyone started to leave the table. Blaine found himself being led upstairs and into Kurt's room.

"I'm sorry about the cake." Blaine sighed as Kurt sat him on the bed.

"Did you not like it?" Kurt asked, sitting next to him and taking his hand.

"Yeah." Blaine answered "It was really sweet of you, but I feel a little bit sick."

"Do you want me to take you home?" Kurt asked, kissing Blaine's hand. Blaine shook his head.

"I'd rather stay here." Blaine mumbled and closed his eyes, "I should get going soon though." Blaine thought of his car, in the dark car park and nearly cried out. He sighed, deciding to fall backwards onto the bed, lying down. Kurt followed him, leaning over him.

"I wish you could stay here forever." Kurt smiled, kissing Blaine's lips. He was being very cautious of his actions, not wanting to hurt Blaine. Blaine noticed this so when Kurt lent back up, Blaine grabbed his tie, drawing him back down to his lips. Kurt seemed surprised but kissed Blaine, moving a hand to Blaine's cheek that wasn't bruised. Butterflies went through Blaine's stomach as he kissed Kurt, moving his hand so it was in Kurt's soft hair.

Blaine suddenly felt this need, this desire, for Kurt. He didn't want to leave and he wanted Kurt to know that. Blaine just wanted to feel Kurt. To taste him and smell him. Blaine licked Kurt's lips, biting his bottom lip gently but enough for Kurt to open his mouth. Blaine slipped his tongue in Kurt's mouth, feeling his tongue on his. Blaine groaned, trying to pull Kurt closer to him. He could feel Kurt getting hot next to him, and this made Blaine feel very hot as well, even in his current cold state. Blaine pulled Kurt towards him so Kurt was forced to saddle Blaine. Their crotches touched, making Blaine groan in pleasure again. His lips left Kurt's as his neck arched. Kurt took advantage of this and started to kiss Blaine's neck, nipping gently at Blaine's skin.

They had only been going out for a few weeks and the most they had done was long make out sessions. This felt different though; more desperate. Blaine could feel Kurt getting hard and he was just the same. Their crouches were touching through their grey school trousers, rubbing together slightly. Kurt let out a sigh of lust against Blaine's ear, making Blaine shiver.

"You're turning me on so bad." Blaine moaned, his eyes closed and his one good running down Kurt's back and then across Kurt's stomach, underneath his shirt.

Kurt stopped kissing Blaine's neck and looked up at Blaine.

"I think we should stop." Kurt mumbled, leaning his forehead against Blaine's. Blaine looked up at him and let his arm drop down to the bed.

"You're upset." Kurt told him, stroking Blaine's cheek. Blaine turned his head, looking away from Kurt, cheeks red and feeling embarrassed. "I want our first time to be perfect." Kurt told Blaine, unsaddling him and lying down next to him so they were looking at each other.

"I know you're upset but you don't need to do anything like that to get me closer to you." Kurt told him, "You already have the whole of me." Blaine sighed, putting his arm over his eyes.

"I know you're right." He told Kurt, "I just feel so stupid." Kurt moved Blaine's hand, looking at him with his sideward smile, looking extremely cute and charming.

"Don't." He said, kissing the side of Blaine's lips, "When we're both ready, and we have the house to ourselves, and when you're not all bandaged up and the moment is just right, that's when we should do it." Blaine nodded, smiling up at Kurt, reaching up and stroking Kurt's face. A cute pink blush spread across his cheeks and nose.

"You're so adorable." Blaine mumbled, a wave of warmth going through him at the sight of Kurt's shy smile.

"Me? You should see yourself." Kurt laughed, "You have the cutest face when you're asleep, I can't wait to see you asleep when your face heals."

"Hopefully it heals soon." Blaine said, "I look horrible and I don't want to deal with all the questions."

"I can try and cover it with make up." Kurt offered.

"Really?" Blaine asked, sounding hopeful.

"Yeah, I learnt how to do it when I was getting locker smashed, sometimes I hit my face." Kurt told him, "I can meet you when you're back at school and do it."

"Please." Blaine begged, his eyes pleading. Kurt smiled at him.

"We better get you back home." Kurt sighed, leaning heavily against Blaine's shoulder with puppy eyes.

"Yeah, it will take you about half an hour to get to Dalton and I don't want you to get back too late." Blaine said, feeling like a pit had just opened in his stomach.

"Dalton? I was going to take you home." Kurt said, confused.

"That's even further for you." Blaine told him, "And my car is at Dalton."

"I don't mind, I can pick you up tomorrow." Kurt smiled at Blaine. Blaine shook his head, looking away from Kurt and at the opposite wall. Kurt had got loads of pictures of his friends and family, and arranged them so they spelt the word 'courage' across his wall.

_Courage_, Blaine though, _I really need some._

"It's fine, I don't want you driving any further then you need to."

"But you've been on painkillers all day." Kurt protested. Blaine reached up and covered Kurt's mouth with his hand. He tore his eyes away from the word 'courage' and to Kurt's eyes. Blaine smiled at him.

"I'm fine and I need my car." Blaine told him, "You're done enough for me today."

"But-"Kurt tried, moving Blaine's hand.

"I'll be fine." Blaine said firmly. Kurt didn't say anything else but Blaine could see he wasn't happy. Kurt got up and held out a hand to Blaine. Blaine hesitated, torn between staying on the comfortable bed and not wanting his secret to be reviled yet. He took Kurt's hand with a heavy sigh and Kurt helped him up, wrapping his arms around Blaine and kissing him gently. Blaine was surprised at the tenderness that Kurt was showing in this kiss. It was so soft and slow; so loving. Tears formed in his eyes as he felt how much Kurt cared about him. It was so bittersweet.

Kurt broke away, noticing a tear running down Blaine's cheek.

"What's wrong Baby?" Kurt asked, wiping the tear away with his thumb and hugging Blaine. He closed his eyes as Kurt gently rubbed his back. The voice in the back of his head started nagging him again.

_Tell him. Tell him. _

"I just feel so lucky to have you." Blaine told him, burying his head into Kurt's neck to hide the other tears that were falling. He hated being this vulnerable, even in front of Kurt.

"I feel the same way about you." Kurt whispered, kissing Blaine's dark curls.

The drive back to Dalton was quiet. Blaine stared out of the window while Kurt quietly sang along to the radio. The painkillers were wearing off and Blaine was starting to feel drowsy with pain. He held his chest, trying to concentrate on something else. He settled on Kurt's voice. It was hypnotic and Blaine had always loved the sound. Kurt's voice was so smooth and passionate.

"Here we are." Kurt said, pulling beside Blaine's car in the Dalton car park. Blaine looked at his blue car, waiting in the dark for him, and sighed heavily.

"I can still drive you home." Kurt offered him. Blaine shook his head and turned to Kurt, painting on his charming smile.

"I'm fine, honestly." He opened the door, shivering as a cold breeze hit him. Kurt got out as well, came round to hug him goodnight.

"You look so cute in that." Kurt smiled, rubbing Blaine's arms which were still covered by the red hoodie. It was too big for Blaine so was quite baggy. Blaine smiled at him. He actually liked wearing it. It was warm and it smelt like Kurt.

"Can I burrow it for a little while longer?" Blaine asked.

"Of course." Kurt smiled, leaning in and hugging him carefully; "Go get some sleep, Sweetie." Blaine rested his head in the crock of Kurt's neck, his shortness allowing him to fit perfectly. He breathed in Kurt's scent, wanting to stay like that forever.

But after staying like that for a while, Blaine finally let go.

"I'll call you when I get home so I know your home safely." Kurt told him. Blaine nodded, looking down. Kurt put his hand on Blaine's face, raising his face and kissing him. Blaine just smiled at him, avoiding Kurt's eyes as he was scared he might start crying again.

Kurt left, leaving Blaine alone in the car park. He didn't know he was leaving Blaine all alone though. He thought Blaine was going home, to a safe environment, with a warm bed and to people that loved him.

Blaine got into his car in silence. It was nearly 10pm by now and he could still see lights in the dormitories. He laid down in the back sear, watching as people moved around in the building. Wes and David were in there, probably studying or playing video games. They shared a room in the dormitories and had the best game consoles that money could buy. Both their parents earned a very high wage.

Blaine took his phone out, looking at it for the first time since that morning. It was full of messages.

_'Where are you?'_ Kurt had text that morning; probably at the coffee shop.

_'Kurt told us what happened, hope you're ok, Dude'_ David had sent at about 10am, when they had been at the hospital. There was a series of texts from all of the Warblers, offering words of support and 'Get well soon' s. Blaine smiled at them, touched by all the concern. Blaine started to reply to each one, distracting himself.

_'Thank you'_

_'I'm fine' _

_'Could I copy your notes from today's lesson?'_

Blaine didn't hint what he was actually thinking and feeling and no one suspected anything. 'Teenage dream' filled the car as Blaine settled down on the back seat, covering himself in his duvet.

"Hey." Kurt's cheerful voice filled his ears. Blaine closed his eyes, holding the phone up to ear. The sleeve of the hoodie rubbed his cheek and the smell of Kurt drafted around him.

"Hey." Blaine mumbled back.

"Are you home?" Kurt asked. Blaine hesitated, opening his eyes and looking around him.

"Yeah, all tucked up in bed." Blaine replied, trying to sound cheerful as well.

"Good, well, I'll let you get some rest." Kurt told him. Blaine felt disappointed but he did feel tired.

"Ok, I'll see you tomorrow." Blaine mumbled and waited for Kurt to hang up. He listened to the tone and lowered his hand, sighing.

It was dark, really dark, but there were shadows dancing around the car from the building lights. Blaine covered his head with his duvet just like last night. It shut out the shadows and Blaine couldn't see anything out of the windows. He shivered and plugged his Ipod into his ears, blocking out the sounds outside with music.

Blaine tried to get asleep, hugging Kurt's hoodie tight against him, pretending he was there beside him.

**Second chapter! The song used was You and Me by Lifehouse. I hope you like this story and I can't believe how much love I've got already. This chapter was a lot longer then the last one, and I'm not sure how long the next chapter will be but I'll try and post it next week. Please review! **


	3. Chapter 3

Blaine didn't sleep as well that night, dreams disturbing his slumber. Dreams that made him jump awake in a panic, thinking he was being attacked. He would shout, looking around with his limbs flying away as he tried to defend himself from the invisible threat. It took him a while to calm down each time, with his chest heaving with struggled breaths and his head spinning. It took him a while to go back to sleep just to awake a little while later with the same reaction.

The lack of sleep was very evident in Blaine's features. He was in the changing rooms, looking in a mirror. There were deep circles under his eyes and his hair was a mess, with his untameable curls sticking up everywhere. His bruises had decreased slightly but they were still a dark purple colour. His uniform, which was normally crisply ironed, had massive creases in them.

Kurt was going to be there any minute and Blaine was determined not to seem upset anymore. He didn't want Kurt or anyone else figuring out something was wrong

He needed to be Blaine Warbler; a persona he had adopted when he had came to Dalton Academy. He had to stop being weak and vulnerable. He had to stop being Blaine Anderson.

Blaine Warbler was smart, both in mind and appearance, as well as confident, strong, reliable and talented. Blaine Warbler was the person he longed to be.

The real Blaine, Blaine Anderson, was quiet and cowardly, shy and so very average. He was anxious and easily upset, and a great disappointment.

Blaine shut his eyes breathing deeply.

_I am Blaine, student of Dalton Academy, lead singer for the Warblers, top student and a promising candidate for a scholarship to New York University_; he said in his head, over and over, trying to get in the right mind set.

"Hey." Came a voice behind him. He jumped, spinning around. Kurt was there, a smile on his face as usual and two cups of coffee in his hands. The smell made Blaine's mouth salivate.

"You're a God send." Blaine sighed as Kurt handed him a coffee. Kurt just kept on smiling.

"Ready for me to work my magic?" Kurt asked as Blaine took a sip. The bitter liquid ran down his throat, making him feel fresh and alert. He closed his eyes and sighed again in relief. Kurt laughed, putting his hands on Blaine's shoulders and leading him to a bench and sitting him down.

"Where should I start?" Kurt mumbled, more to himself then Blaine. Kurt started emptying his bag onto the bench next to him. Its contents included hair gel and make up.

"My clothes are dreadful." Blaine said, looking down at the creased uniform in disgust.

"I can iron them if you want." Kurt offered. There was an iron and an ironing board in the changing rooms for student use. Kurt walked over to where it was leaning against the wall and started to set it up. Blaine blushed as Kurt asked for his trousers.

"I… you don't have to do this." Blaine told him.

"And have Blaine Anderson walk around in an untidy uniform?" Kurt asked, "People will think the world has ended." Blaine's blush deepened as he remembered how he used to dress in his old school. Jeans and a hoodie. Scruffy, comfortable and discreet.

Blaine took his trousers off and Kurt winced as he saw all the bruises that were scattered across his legs.

"What should I do?" Blaine asked, feeling uncomfortable in his boxers.

"Sit there and drink coffee." Kurt smiled, starting to iron the grey trousers. Blaine obeyed, watching Kurt work.

"And what's with the red vest top?" Kurt asked, raising a disapproving eyebrow at Blaine's choice of clothing.

"My blazer still has blood on it." Blaine replied, "I hate not wearing it though, this vest isn't as warm." He sounded frustrated.

"Wanna borrow mine?" Kurt asked, a smile playing on his lips.

"Really?" Blaine asked. He really did like the blazers. He felt it helped him play more of the part.

"Yeah, I can rock the vest look a lot better then you can." Kurt laughed, winking at him. Blaine didn't deny it. Kurt could probably just wear a black bag and still manage to rock the look.

Kurt finished ironing as Blaine finished his coffee. He was sad it was all gone and licked his lips, trying to savour the taste. He felt a lot better now that caffeine was in his system. Kurt's blazer was a bit big for him but Blaine felt more like Blaine Warbler in it. And Kurt looked extremely cute in the red vest.

"I feel like I'm committing a crime against hair." Kurt moaned as he undid the tub of hair gel, "Your hair is so gorgeous, why do you gel it down?"

"Because it makes me look like a clown!" Blaine told him, "Or like I've had a perm." Kurt laughed and scooped some hair gel out of its pot. Blaine closed his eyes as Kurt ran his hands through his hair, applying the wet gel.

"It feels so much better when someone else does it." Blaine mumbled, butterflies flying around his stomach. Kurt lent down and kissed him on the cheek, smiling on his skin. Kurt lingered there, causing Blaine to take a sharp intake of breath as pleasure filled him from the touch. It wasn't arousal pleasure; it was just nice.

"You ok?" Kurt asked, straightening back up.

"Yeah." Blaine nodded, reopening his eyes. Kurt continued to style Blaine's hair, chatting away as he did so. Blaine listened, concentrating on Kurt's smooth tones.

"Just your face now." Kurt smiled, as he washed his hands. Blaine followed him to the sink and looked in the mirror, standing behind Kurt. Kurt had done his hair perfectly, showing off his flawless talent of makeovers and styling. Kurt smiled at Blaine through the mirror before turning around and kissing him. Blaine melted into the kiss, lifting his hand up to Kurt's waist, pulling him close to him. Kurt laughed, leaving Blaine's lips and hugging Blaine.

"What's with you lately?" Kurt asked, as Blaine winced from the hug. He didn't sound angry or upset, just curious.

"I guess I just really want to show you how much I care about you." Blaine answered, screwing his face up as pain went through him. Kurt backed off, his arms still round Blaine.

"Have you taken you painkillers?" Kurt asked, looking worried.

"Yes." Blaine lied, "They just haven't kicked in yet."

"You shouldn't even be in today." Kurt scolded, leading Blaine back over to the bench, "You should go home and rest."

"No." Blaine said as he sat down, "I had rest yesterday, I need to study for this exam, I can't afford to lose anymore time."

"Ok." Kurt said, sitting down next to him, a worried but understanding look on his face, "We better hurry up then, otherwise we'll be late for lessons."

Blaine nodded, noticing the concerned look on his boyfriend's face.

"Close you eyes." Kurt told Blaine, his voice soft and full of warmth. Blaine did just that, smiling as Kurt gently touched his face. He relaxed as Kurt's fingers gently massaged his cheeks, forehead and nose with cool liquids and warm powders. It felt nice and even though his face was all bruised, Kurt managed to run his fingers over his skins so gently that it didn't hurt.

"Finished." Kurt said a little while later, tapping Blaine's nose gently. Blaine opened his eyes as Kurt held up a compactor mirror.

"Wow." Blaine smiled, looking at himself amazed, "I look normal again." Kurt had used make up to cover the bruised and his skin was even in colour.

"I had to go through my entire collection of make up to find your skin tone." Kurt told him, giving Blaine the mirror and putting away the make up, "It's a good thing I collect different foundations so I can do my makeovers on my girly nights."

Blaine laughed, giving the mirror back and standing up.

"You're a miracle worker." He said, taking Kurt's hand as he got up. Kurt smiled, pleased with himself.

"I try."

They stole a brief kiss before going to lessons.

By the end of the day, Blaine was so tired from the pain that had been running through his body all day that he could barely walk. He didn't want to take his painkillers because they made him fall asleep and he still needed to copy all of the notes from yesterday's missed lessons and make up for missed revision.

Kurt had gone home already, leaving Blaine with a coffee and a sweet kiss to the forehead. Blaine was at the back of the library, scribbling away. He had several notepads around him and a large stack of books. There were other students round the library but they slowly went home one by one, until Blaine was the only one left.

'_Going to bed now, don't forget to clean the make up off otherwise you'll get spots' _Kurt texted him. Blaine looked at in surprised until he realised it was 11pm. Blaine sighed, rubbing his eyes, and looking around him. It had got dark outside without Blaine noticing and the room was completely empty. The site manager would be there any minute to lock up and Blaine needed to sort out his notes so he could read back on them later.

Yawning, Blaine gathered up his papers, labelling and post noting certain pages. His hands were shaking slightly and he decided he needed coffee or sleep. He felt like he was in a trance as he walked through the darkening school. He kept on yawning and stumbled on his feet a little. He clutched his shirt as it hurt. Consistent pain. He had been feeling it all day and it was beginning to get annoying more then anything else.

Outside was creepy as it was very dark, with only a few cars there. Boarding students had a separate car park so these cars were probably overnight visitors and night staff. Blaine got to his car, too tired to care that he was sleeping in there again. He changed into sweats and Kurt's hoodie, spreading out across the seat to get changed. Wincing, Blaine laid down and pulled the hood over his head. He then reached into his bag, taken out the cleansing wipes that Kurt had given him. Kurt would defiantly notice if he didn't use them and lecture him in the morning, and while Blaine thought Kurt looked so adorable when he was going on about something, Blaine didn't think he had the energy for a lecture at the moment.

Blaine fell asleep pretty quickly, clutching his phone and snuggling up in his duvet.

"_Blaine! Blaine! Help me!" Blaine was in a school, telling by the lockers that lined the walls. Someone was screaming his name but he couldn't see anyone._

"_Blaine!" _

_He started running along the corridor which just got longer and longer as he ran. _

"_Blaine! Help me! Blaine! He's coming!" the screams chilled Blaine's insides and they were filled with pain and fear. They were a little girl's screams._

"_Amber!" Blaine called out, still running and looking around. Doors were flying past but the screams were coming from straight ahead, were there was a shut door. _

"_Blaine! He's after me!" _

"_Amber!" Blaine yelled as she continued to scream._

"_Blaine! Please! Don't leave me!" she cried out, the screams filling the hallway. Blaine kept on running, desperately trying to get to the door. He needed to get to his little sisters. He needed to save her. To protect her. _

_He finally reached the door, but the doorknob was broken. Blaine could see silhouettes through the frosted glass panel on the door. There was a small frame, folded in fear. _

"_Noo!" she cried, backing away as a larger person came into view. They were like a bear as they towered over the smaller person._

_Blaine shook the door, trying to force it open. He threw his whole weight against it. _

"_Leave me alone!" Amber cried._

"_No! Stop!" Blaine yelled, as the large figure raised a massive paw. He couldn't get the door open though. _

"_Amber!" Blaine cried out. _

"_Save me Blaine!" _

Blaine jumped awake, shaking and panting. His chest was on fire and his neck ached from being at a weird angle. His head was spinning; the screams still filling his mind.

"Amber." He breathed, looking around. The sky outside was dark blue and birds were already starting to sing. The building was still and no new cars had arrived in the parking lot. Hands shaking, Blaine looked at his phone, which read 5:30am. In half an hour the building will began to wake and the doors will unlock, allowing students access to the library, cafeteria and changing rooms.

Blaine closed his eyes, leaning his head against the window. The cool glass helped his headache and he clutched the hoodie he wore tightly as his chest heaved in painful gasps.

_Just a dream_, he reminded himself as he continued to shake. Blaine tried to get his breathing even as the sky became lighter and the birds became louder. He looked at his phone, suddenly wanting someone to text or call him; Amber mostly. He hadn't heard a word from her since he was kicked out and he was beyond worried. There was probably a reasonable explanation for it but he needed to hear from her; to know she was ok. He didn't dare text or call her though. Their father was probably mentoring her phone and her emails, and if she got a message from him, she might get in trouble.

Blaine got out of his car as the site manager walked around the school. Blaine gathered up his uniform and bag, going to the main doors. The site manager, who was a man in his 50s, raised an eyebrow at him.

"I thought I'll work out in the gym before lessons." Blaine tried to explain his sweats, his voice croaked from sleep. The site manager nodded, his eyebrow still raised. Blaine rushed past, keeping his head down as he half ran to the changing room.

_I need a shower_, he groaned in his head as he looked in a mirror. His hair was disgustingly greasy and he felt sticky with sweat. He realised he still had Kurt's Mckinley hoodie on and a laugh escaped his lips. It really did look silly on him as it was bright red, compared to the navy of the blazers, and was too big. However, Blaine loved it. The smell of Kurt still lingered on it and it was just so comfortable. He secretly decided that Kurt was never getting it back. However, it looked out of place in the strict, polished environment. Blaine took it off and put it in an empty locker, along with his other clothes. Wrapping a towel around his waist, Blaine went into the empty showers. Doing his best not to get his cast wet, Blaine showered. He washed his greasy hair, washing away all of the dirtiness he felt from sleeping in his car for three nights. The warm water felt nice against his skin and he stayed in there a little longer then necessary as he lost himself in the steam and song.

**Well I couldn't tell you**

**Why she felt that way**

**She felt it every day**

**And I couldn't help**

**I just watched her make**

**The same mistakes again**

Blaine didn't realise he had started to sing this song until he reached the chorus. He smiled bitterly.

**What's wrong, what's wrong now**

**Too many, too many problems**

**Don't know where she belongs**

**Where she belongs**

**What wants to go home**

**But nobody's home**

**That's where she lies**

**Broken inside**

He let the water run over his face as he lent his head up. He licked his lips, feeling empty inside. He didn't finish the song. It felt bitter and cold inside his mouth and on his tongue. A bit like ash. He turned off the water, shivering from the sudden coldness, and went on autopilot in order to get ready.

Autopilot was the easiest form at the moment, and Blaine found himself in it most of the time at the moment. It allowed him to do the things he needed to do without having to think about how pointless they seemed.

With a bit of a struggle, because of his arm, Blaine managed to iron his clothes and do his hair without the need of Kurt's help. He didn't want to rely on Kurt anymore then he needed to. He didn't want to rely on anyone.

Blaine was washing his hands of access hair gel when Kurt walked in, bringing the smell of coffee and gingerbread with him. Blaine smiled at him through his wall of solitude.

"Your face looks so much better." Kurt smiled, kissing Blaine on the cheek and handing him a coffee. The bruise had gone down dramatically, leaving just a slightly purple twinge to Blaine's skin. It was still tender to touch but it didn't look as dreadful.

"I got us a cookie to share." Kurt said, taking out a gingerbread man. Blaine's stomach twisted horrible and he nearly gagged at the smell and the sight of the sweetie treat. He loved gingerbread. He loved anything sweet and that was why Kurt called him sweetie. He normally had to beg Kurt to share one with him, but lately the sight and smell of any food made him feel nauseous. Yesterday all he ate was a small salad at lunch and even then he struggled to keep it down. He wasn't sure why he was feeling like this but he was finding it slightly annoying.

"I had breakfast." Blaine told Kurt, looking guilty. Kurt's face fell slightly but he kept his smile.

"I'll save it until lunch then." He said, putting it back into his bag. Blaine sat down on a bench, looking at his phone. Amber still hadn't contacted him. He sighed as he realised he hadn't really expected her to.

"Waiting for someone?" Kurt asked, sitting down next to him and leaning his head on Blaine's shoulder.

"Just you." Blaine lied, kissing Kurt's hair. This made Kurt smile, and nuzzle into Blaine's neck. They stayed like that for a long moment. Kurt enjoying the feeling and Blaine too wrapped up in his own thoughts to break it. He stared at his phone, willing it to ring.

"We better do your face then." Kurt finally said, raising and getting his make up bag out. Blaine didn't reply as he hadn't heard.

"Blaine?" Kurt asked, causing Blaine to look up into his blue eyes.

"Hmm?" Blaine mumbled. Kurt took his hand and placed his other on Blaine's cheek.

"Are you ok?" Kurt asked, stroking his cheek with his thumb, "You've seem so down since Tuesday."

"I'm fine, just tired." Blaine replied, putting his hand over Kurt's and smiling at him.

"Are you sure?" Kurt asked, "You don't seem yourself."

"Once this stupid exam is over I'll be fine." Blaine told him, smiling. Kurt laughed, nodding in argument. He lent his head against Blaine, locking their eyes together.

"Wanna come and study at mine after school?" Kurt asked, giving Blaine his puppy eyes. Blaine smiled, kissing Kurt. The feel of Kurt's lips against his calmed him slightly. For a split second Blaine forgot his guilt and his pain. All he could feel and think about was how soft and tasty Kurt's lips were. They tasted of coffee, vanilla and a slight hint of morning toothpaste. Blaine smiled into the kiss, wanting it to last.

"Of course." He whispered on Kurt's lips, thinking of Kurt's comfortable bed, sweet kisses breaking up the studying and the cuddles that would probably end the night. Kurt smiled back, his eyes bright. Blaine loved that smile. He wished he could take a picture so he could look at it whenever he was upset. It was a smile just for him and Blaine knew that. It made him feel so special.

That day went as a blur for Blaine. He wrote his notes, listened to his teachers, attended lunch time Warblers practice and nodded along as Kurt lectured him on the importance of eating lunch. Blaine felt like he was just drifting in and out of existence as he wandered from lesson to lesson. Everyone was chatting around him but he didn't seem to hear a thing. Kurt led him around, hand in hand, talking away as well. Blaine knew he was doing it to try to get Blaine to cheer up. Blaine knew Kurt realised something was wrong but he was sure Kurt didn't know what. The whole school was thick with tense at the moment, due to the upcoming exam, so the way Blaine was acting wasn't actually unusual. The only thing that stood him out was his cast.

The exam proved quite a convenient excuse and Blaine showed no hesitation in using it to anyone that enquired into his quiet and blank self.

The end of the day came and Blaine followed the flow of students as they left the school. It was a Friday so the halls were full of the talk of the weekend. Kurt, who was walking beside Blaine, was hyper with the talk of outfits and a shopping trip with Mercedes.

"We're going to the cinema afterwards if you want to tag along." Kurt smiled at him, but Blaine didn't hear as he had spotted, amongst all the boys in blue blazers, a curly haired girl in blue jeans and a purple sweater. She was holding a red suitcase tightly and looking around nervously.

"Amber." Blaine managed to breathe, before running over to her. Amber saw him and a tearful smile spread across her face as he swept her into a hug.

"What are you doing here?" Blaine asked, burying his face into her golden curls.

"I brought you some of your stuff." Amber told him. Blaine let go of her and smiled down at her. The first real smile he had managed in days. She looked so small amongst the tall high school boys, and also a little pale. The tears made her cheeks wet and pink and her eyes red but otherwise she looked ok.

"Come on." Blaine said softly, taking her soft hand and leading her to his car, away from all the eyes that had been watching them.

"How did you get here?" Blaine asked, starting up his car, with some difficulties because he hadn't used it in a couple of days and it was old.

"I told my teachers that I had a dentist appointment and got the bus here." Amber explained, wiping her eyes and looking at Blaine. She looked at the white cast and Blaine's bruised face.

"I can't believe he did that." she said, looking sad and nearly in tears again.

"It was only a matter of time." Blaine sighed, manoeuvring his car around the students. He sounded bitter, "How has he been since I left?"

"He got drunk when you left and passed out on the sofa, so I packed up some of your stuff and hid them in my room, I tried to save as much as I could." Tears began pouring down Amber's face as she talked, "But he threw everything else away… I'm sorry."

Blaine didn't know what to say. He always thought he could go back and get the rest of his stuff.

"It…It's ok." Blaine said, driving to the nearby mall, "It's not your fault."

"I saved all of Nan's stuff, and your photo albums, and your Harry Potter books and the Gryffindor scurf you had on your bed post and your teddy." Amber said, hoping to make Blaine feel better. He smiled at her, happy that Amber knew the things that were important to him. "I even got the rest of your hair gel, and your music sheets."

"Thank you." Blaine said as driving into the mall and pulling into a parking space. He turned to his little sister, "Come on, I'll get you a strawberry frappuccino." he told her, leaning over and wiping the tears away and pulling her into a hug. She buried her face into Blaine's chest, making him wince as she pushed into his ribs.

"I'm sorry!" she panicked, sitting back up but Blaine kept his arms around her. It was the first time he felt happy all week and he didn't want it to end.

"He hasn't touched you at all, has he?" Blaine asked as he sat their orders down on the table. He sat down on the couch next to Amber. They were in Starbucks and the coffee shop was filled with after school shoppers.

"You know he wouldn't." Amber answered, sipping her drink.

"But if he ever did, you have to tell me straight away." Blaine told her, seriously. Amber nodded.

"He took my phone though." She told her brother. Blaine sighed and shook his head.

"Give my number to a friend and use their phone." He suggested.

"I told Charlotte." Amber said, quietly, referring to her best friend.

"Good, its good to tell someone."

"Are you staying with that Kurt kid?" Amber asked. Blaine's eyes widened as he realised that he had completely ditched Kurt without so as an explanation.

"No." he said, shaking his head at his stupidity. Amber looked at him curiously.

"Where are you staying then?"

"Don't worry about it." Blaine told her, looking away from her and taking a long sip of his coffee.

"Blaine?" Amber asked, concerned.

"It doesn't matter." He sighed, but he could feel Amber's eyes burning into him.

"My car." He finally said, looking back at her.

"What? Why are you staying in your car? I thought Kurt was a nice person." Amber asked, shocked.

"What has Kurt got to do with this?" Blaine asked.

"Why isn't he letting you stay with him?" Amber asked. Blaine looked at her, confused, but her serious look made him laugh.

"He doesn't know, nobody knows." He told her, leaning back on the sofa.

"Why?" Amber asked, he eyes wide.

"I just want to concentrate on my exam and if I told people they will treat me differently and everything will be about that." Blaine explained, "I just want to pass this exam."

"I thought Kurt loved you though." Amber said. Blaine choked on his drink and looked at her, blushing.

"I… I don't know if he does." Blaine told her, "I might just be a fling to him, I have no idea." He put his coffee down and sighed.

"Do you love him?" Amber asked, curiously. Blaine hesitated, turning in the seat, and looking at her. Amber was sitting crossed legged on the seat, leaning against the armrest so she was facing him. Her brown eyes were wide, the way they always were when she was being curious. She held her pink drink in both her hands with the straw at her lips.

"I… I think I do." Blaine said quietly.

"How can you not know?" Amber asked who, at the age of 12, still believed in love at first sight.

"It's not as simple as a Disney film, Am." Blaine laughed, "There is more to love then that."

"I wish love was simpler." Amber mumbled, "You deserve someone nice."

Blaine chuckled, smiling at her.

After the coffee shop, Blaine took Amber to McDonalds as she was hungry. Blaine decided to eat something as well, remembering Kurt's lecture from earlier. He ate the food easily, listening to Amber talk about school, dance practice and her plans for the weekend, which consisted mostly of spending as much time as possible away from their father. Blaine munched away on his fries quietly. He didn't need to talk as Amber never ran out of things to say. She could talk for hours and as she hadn't seen Blaine in three days she had a lot to share.

Just as Blaine finished his last fry, his stomach suddenly felt like jelly and he felt hot and sweaty.

"I'm just going to go to the restroom." Blaine excused himself and rushed to the bathroom and into a cubicle. He locked the door and lent over the toilet, feeling like he was going to faint as all the food he had just eaten rushed out of him and into the bowl.

"Shit." Blaine cursed, clutching his shirt so tightly his knuckles turned white. The ranching movement pushed against his ribs, filling like someone was punching him. The smell of the sick just made him feel more nauseous.

"What the hell?" Blaine asked himself, wiping his mouth with some tissues. He spat into the toilet before flashing and leaving the cubicle, feeling lightheaded.

_Food poisoning?_ Blaine thought as he splashed his face with cold water. He looked up into the mirror. He was pale and his eyes looked dark, with red rings around them. His skin was shiny with sweat but he felt quite chilly. Blaine sighed, rubbing his face and then shaking his hands and straightening his tie; ready for the outside world.

"You ok?" Amber asked as he walked back up to their table, "You look sick."

Blaine smiled at her, feeling empty. The happiness that he had been feeling had suddenly disappeared.

"I'm fine." he lied. The smell of all the food around him was making his stomach twist and his skin crawl. He could practically hear the fat drip off the burgers.

"I better get going, Dad may be home soon." Amber said, wiping her hands of grease and salt. She threw the napkin onto the tray and got up. She took the lead in walking out of the fast food restaurant and towards the car park. Blaine followed, trying to concentrate on Amber's conversation, but all he could think of was how greasy he felt.

"You'll find somewhere to stay, right?" Amber asked as they drove out of the car park. Blaine nodded.

"You're going to be fine, aren't you?" he asked, "I'm worried about you."

"I'm ok." Amber said, her tone becoming sad, "I miss you though."

"I miss you too." Blaine mumbled, his voice quiet. It wasn't the same not seeing Amber everyday. They had always been close, despite their age difference. It probably came from having a verbally and physically abusive father and being abandoned by their mother. They had fought their battles together. They had always had each other, but now they were separate. They had to fight alone now.

Blaine pulled up a block away from their house just in case their father was already in. Amber looked at Blaine, tears forming in her eyes again.

"Do you think you'll ever come home?" Blaine didn't speak for a moment. His fists curled around the stirring wheel tightly.

"I don't think that's possible, Am." He said slowly, "Not unless I become straight." Blaine sighed, thinking of how much easier his life would be, and would have been, if he was straight.

"_You're no son of mine!"_ his father's voice rang through his mind, making him clutch the stirring wheel even more tightly. It hurt his wrist, which had been aching for days. He hadn't taken any painkillers and the pain was now normal for him.

Amber reached over the back seat, where the suitcase was, and took something out of the front packet.

"He threw it away but I fished it out of the bin." Amber told Blaine. It was the picture of him and Kurt. She handed it to him and he looked at it, his eyes softening. Kurt looked so pretty in it, with the sun lighting up his skin and highlighting his freckles. A smile was on his lips as he kissed Blaine.

"You look so happy." Amber told him. Blaine looked at her. She looked determined and so very serious. "You deserve this, Blaine, you deserve love."

He smiled at her, leaning over and wrapping an arm round her shoulders.

"When did you get so smart?" he asked. Amber laughed but it was cut short by a sob escaping her mouth.

"Sorry." She said, sitting back from the embrace and wiping her eyes.

"Text me your friend's number tomorrow." Blaine told her, "I want us to be able to keep in touch."

Amber nodded and Blaine smiled at her.

"This isn't forever, we'll be together again." He promised. Amber nodded, believing her older brother. She got out of the car and Blaine watched her disappear around the block. He refused to let the tears that were glazing his eyes fall. He didn't want to cry again.

_Life isn't fair_, Blaine thought as he drove back to Dalton.

"Don't study too hard, Wizz Boy." A voice said, causing Blaine to look up from his book. He was in the library surrounded by his notes and books. Wes and David stood there, each holding a few books. It was nearly 9pm and there were still a few students in there.

"I thought you were at Kurt's tonight?" Wes asked, sitting next to him.

"I kinda stood him up accidental and I'm too scared to call him." Blaine confessed. Kurt hadn't texted him and Blaine thought he might be angry with him.

"We heard." David laughed, "He asked who the girl you were running off with was."

"I think he assumed it was important when we told him it was your little sister." Wes informed Blaine, who placed his head in his hands and groaned.

"I should call him." he mumbled.

"Yes, and you should also take a break." Wes said, beginning to gather up Blaine's paper for him. Blaine swatted his hands away, not wanting his order to be disturbed.

"We're just about to order a pizza, want some?" David asked.

"No, I've eaten." Blaine said, organising his notes his own way.

"Well, come up to our room and play Portal 2 co-op then." David said, "There is such a thing as studying too hard."

Blaine sighed, knowing that the two seniors wouldn't leave him alone until he agreed.

"Fine, let me finish this bit and call Kurt and I'll be up there." Wes and David smiled, leaving Blaine with a clap on the back. He studied for another half an hour, until his eyes started to drop. It was only then he decided to stop reading and writing, and followed his friends to the dormitories.

On the way across the campus to the dormitories, Blaine nervously called Kurt. He really was expecting his boyfriend to be mad at him.

"Hello stranger." Kurt answered. He sounded a bit disappointed but angry, much to Blaine's relief.

"Hey." Blaine mumbled, "I'm so sorry."

"It's ok, it must have been important, you looked upset when you left." Kurt told him.

"Yeah, Amber had some problems at school so she ran away and came here." Blaine lied, hoping Kurt wouldn't ask about the suitcase.

"What kind of problems?" Kurt asked, curiously.

"She…she gets bullied a lot because…because her brother is a fag." Blaine answered bitterly. This wasn't a lie and it made Blaine hate himself even more.

"That's horrible." Kurt said, sounding shocked and angry, "But it's not your fault, Blaine." he said, sensing the self blame in Blaine's voice. Blaine sighed, wishing he felt that way.

"I really did want to spend time with you today, I didn't ditch you intentionally."

"I know." Kurt told him. Blaine could hear the small smile on his lips. "What are you doing now?"

"At Dalton, I'm going to play some video games with Wes and David." Blaine answered. He was hoping he could crash the night as it would be nice to sleep inside. But he didn't say this to Kurt of course.

"Ok, well I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." Kurt said, "I hope you have a good night."

"Thanks…you too." Blaine said quietly, biting his lip.

"Goodnight."

"Kurt." Blaine suddenly said as Kurt went to hang up, "I really am sorry."

Kurt laughed. The sound sent sweet shivers down Blaine's spin.

"It's ok, I completely understand." Kurt told him, "We'll talk about it tomorrow."

Blaine sighed deeply, rubbing his eyes as the call ended. He was relieved that Kurt wasn't angry with him but he wanted to see him. Kurt's smile always made Blaine forget his worries. Even if it was for a little while.

Blaine was amazed how playing video games distracted him so much. Talking with Wes and David and concentrating on the puzzle game was really enjoyable and therapeutic. Kurt found it weird that Blaine is close to Wes and David as they were a year older then them. The truth was that Blaine finds it really hard to made friends despite the confident and friendly persona he displays. He has had bad past experiences with friends and getting close to people so he tends to keep people at an arms length so not to get hurt. David was appointed as Blaine's mentor when he arrived at Dalton two years ago. Blaine had kept to himself; quietly studying alone in the library and eating lunch alone outside in the school's gardens. David noticed this and got him involved with events around the school, including the Warblers when he found out Blaine could sing. And as Wes was David's best friend he was involved in the 'Make Blaine Speak' scheme.

Blaine had made other friends in the two years he had been at Dalton but none as close as the two seniors. They knew what Blaine was like; how stressed he got about exams and how quiet and withdrawn he use to be. In some ways they knew Blaine better then Kurt did. Up until now Kurt had only seen the confident, loud and relaxed Blaine.

It was all coming out now though. Soon Kurt will know what Blaine wasn't as great as he thought he was. Just the opposite.

Blaine did sleep in Wes and David's room that night, curled up on the floor with a blanket and pillows. It was warm and a lot more comfortable without the seat buckles sticking in his side and space to spread out.

_It was raining. Raining hard. Blaine was sitting in his car waiting for it to pass. Outside it was dark, the rain distorting everything. Blaine watched it, flinching as it made loud noises against the roof of the car._

_Something moved outside, making Blaine jump. He turned on his lights to see what it was. _

_She was just standing there, staring at him, her eyes dark and empty. Half her face was red with blood, dripping off her chin and nose. Her hair was a mess; dirt and dried blood clotting it together. Her clothes were ripped and dirt, and with blood covering the fabrics. She held out an arm as if she was reaching for something, and Blaine saw droplets of blood fall from her fingertips before she fell over. _

"_Amber!" Blaine yelled, getting out of his car and ran to her side. _

"_Amber!" he yelled, dropping down beside her and dragging her into his arms. Her eyes were open but were dull and still. Her skin was icy cold and all of her limbs were limp and heavy. Shaking, Blaine pushed her blond hair out of her face and checked for a pulse._

"_No! Amber!" Blaine cried before an agonising scream erupted from within him. _

"Blaine!" Wes yelled over the younger boy's screams. He was shaking on the floor, his arms waving about in a wild panic. Blaine jumped awake, looking around the room. Wes was kneeling next to him, a hand on Blaine's shoulder, and David was sitting up on his bed, tired eyes on Blaine.

"You ok?" David asked, his voice heavy with sleep. Blaine nodded, breathing heavily.

"Yeah… just a dream." He told them, rubbing his temple as a headache began to form.

"You were yelling Amber's name." Wes told him.

"…Just a nightmare." Blaine mumbled again. He rested his head on his arms, which were around his knees. "What's the time?" Blaine asked while Wes got up from the floor and sat on the edge of his bed.

"Quarter to six." David moaned, flopping himself back down on the bed and covering his head with his pillow. David had never been good with early mornings. Wes laughed at the reaction and even Blaine managed a smile.

"Well, I'm awake." Blaine said, standing up, wincing as he moved his chest. He was in his sweats that he 'left' in his car from 'gym'. So he needed to get changed. Of course all his other clothes were in his car but he didn't want his two friends knowing that.

"I'm going home to get changed." He told them, "I'll see you later in the study hall." He gathered up his belongings, his hands shaking. "Thanks for letting me stay."

Wes just waved a hand from where he was lying and David was already asleep.

Instead of going home Blaine got some clothes from his car and showered in the changing rooms again. For the first time in ages, Blaine decided to wear comfortable clothes and not gel his hair down.

Kurt was defiantly surprised when he found Blaine several hours later in the study hall. Dark curly hair hanging loose, jeans, black converse and his McKinley hoodie was Blaine's outfit choice compared to the smart shirt and jumper, skinny jeans and smart shoes he normally wore.

"Yay curly hair!" Kurt smiled, coming up from behind and hugging Blaine. Kurt buried his face in his hair, smiling widely. Blaine laughed, tearing his eyes away from his revision. He lifted his arms up and wrapt them around Kurt's neck in a backwards hug.

"Hey." Blaine smiled, loving the feeling of Kurt playing with his hair. Kurt sat down next to him, his smile still on him. He was wearing black skinny jeans with white boots, along with a long white jumper that went over his hips. He looked very sexy and butterflies went through Blaine's stomach. It was a nice to be feeling something pleasant and Blaine tried to hold onto the feeling.

"What's up with the casuals?" Kurt asked, looking over his appeal. Blaine looked down at the red hoodie and shrugged.

"I was in a rush this morning." He offered as an answer, "And it's been such a hassle trying to get ready this week with my arm so I thought I'll take a break."

Kurt nodded, taking his books out.

"You look so cute in my hoodie." He beamed. Blaine laughed, smiling. The pleasant, nice feeling was still floating around him.

"How was your sister this morning?" Kurt asked and with that single question everything that was wrong at the moment flooded back to Blaine's mind and the feeling disappeared. He felt guilty as he thought of his little sister and shivered as he remembered all the dreams he had been having. They were torturing him.

"Yeah, she feels better now." Blaine told him.

"Bullies can be so cruel." Kurt sighed, leaning his chin on one of his heads and tilting his head to the side, looking at Blaine. "You must be so angry."

Blaine nodded, looking down at his books. The words seemed to jumble up as he tried to focus on the page.

"I must say though, your sister is gorgeous." Kurt smiled, "Her hair is so cute!"

Blaine nodded, a smile slowly spreading across his face as he pictured Amber laughing and smiling with her curls bouncing around her olive face.

"I really want to meet her." Kurt said, still looking at Blaine. After Blaine didn't respond, he said, "You've met my family."

Blaine could feel his eyes on him, burning into his skin. Blaine sighed, putting down his pen and rubbing his temple. He had had a headache all day and was feeling slightly dizzy.

"You can meet my sister." He finally said. He practically heard Kurt deflate.

"How about your Dad?" Kurt asked. Blaine kept his head down, unable to looked Kurt in the eyes. He picked his pen up, pretending to work again to avoid the question.

"Are…Are you ashamed of me?" Kurt asked.

"What? No!" Blaine said, looking up. Kurt looked slightly wounded and was looking down at his hands, which were on the table. Blaine sighed and took his hands. Rubbing Kurt's knuckles with his thumbs, Blaine looked at him.

"You probably find this hard to believe considering your relationship with your Dad, but I hate my Dad."

Kurt looked up at Blaine, his expression shocked.

"Blaine! You can't-"he started.

"But I do, Kurt." Blaine interjected, "and I'm not ashamed of it, he drove my Mother out, his a massive homophobe and will never accept me for who I am, and now-!" he took a deep breath, anger filling him. He managed to stop talking before revealing he was homeless. He didn't notice he had tightened his grip on Kurt's hands until Kurt winced slightly. Blaine loosened his grip and locked eyes with Kurt.

"As soon as I leave High School and Amber has left home as well, I am never going to see my Dad again." Blaine told him, "The only reason I put up with him now is because of Amber, I don't want anything to do with him and I don't even see him as my Father anymore."

Kurt's mouth was slightly open in shock and tears were glistening in his blue eyes.

"Don't feel sorry for me." Blaine sighed, rubbing his face again. That was the last thing he wanted.

"Can…can I still meet your gorgeous little sister?" Kurt asked, giving Blaine a small smile. Blaine smiled back, appreciating the change of subject.

"Of course." He replied. Kurt smiled.

"And I could bring Finn along; it could be like a sibling date or something."

Blaine laughed, thinking of how awkward Finn would look with two gay teenagers and a 12 year old girl.

"But if you ever need to talk." Kurt said, placing a hand on Blaine's cheek, "I'm here to listen."

Blaine lent his head to the side, leaning into the touch. He looked up at Kurt, trying to smile but no smile managed to reach his lips.

"Thanks." He mumbled, "But all I want to do right now is revise for this damn exam."

Kurt nodded, laughing slightly and turning his head to his notebook.

Blaine was glad Kurt was a silent studier as Blaine could only work in quiet environments, but some people needed to talk in order to revise and take things in. Blaine refused to study with David because all he did was talk. He couldn't concentrate in long periods of time so tried to chat to break up sections of it. Wes could put up with it but Blaine had nearly strangled him on more then one occasion.

But Kurt just sat there, headphones in, and studied. Blaine knew Kurt was very serious about his studies and was a straight A student at McKinley. However the difference in expectations and teaching at Dalton was very high. When Kurt first came to the school his guides were average, with Cs and Bs. Blaine had been even worse when he arrived at Dalton as he had been a straight A student before. They both had to work really hard in order to get the As they get now. Blaine was now one of the top students in his year but he always told himself it wasn't because he was smart, just really hard working. Kurt was a lot more intelligent then he was, or at least Blaine felt so. He had never been good at school and struggled to take things in. He took notes and revised for hours just to get his grades. Kurt had struggled for the first couple of weeks but was coping with the assignments and exams very well now.

"I'm meeting Mercedes at three." Kurt said, a couple of hours later, looking at his watch. It was past noon and Blaine heard Kurt's stomach growl.

"Wanna grab some lunch at the mall?" Kurt asked. Blaine shook his head, not looking up from the English book he was reading.

"You've been revising for hours, you need to take a break." Kurt told him. Blaine didn't say anything. He felt like he had done nearly nothing as he was finding it hard to take anything in. the words were dancing around the page and Blaine couldn't concentrate on anything.

"Not hungry." Blaine finally said as he felt Kurt's eyes bore into him.

"When was the last time you ate?" he asked. Blaine thought of yesterday; of the McDonalds and he felt sick.

"This morning." he lied, still looking at his notebook. He was trying to analyse a scene from Romeo and Juliet but what he had just written made no sense.

"You need to take a break." Kurt said. Blaine sighed and threw his pen down at his writing, frustrated with the words and the paper and just about everything. The pen rolled off the table and onto the floor. Blaine cursed as the frustration grew and he threw his notebook across the table as well. Kurt looked at him shocked as the notebook fall onto the floor and paper went everywhere. A few students around them looked up at the disruption, surprised at the sudden outburst from their lead Warbler. Blaine could feel Wes and David looking at him from across the room.

Blaine was just so frustrated because nothing would go into his mind. The information he needed to know was going in one ear and out the other. And he needed to pass this exam. He had to pass this exam. If he failed then that was the rest of his life ruined.

"Are you ok?" Kurt asked. Blaine sighed, closing his eyes and trying to count to ten. He nodded, bending down to pick up his notebook. As he did so pain rushed through his chest and he cried out.

"I'll get it." Kurt said, getting to his feet and forcing Blaine back into his seat, and then bent down to gather up the paper and pen. Blaine sighed again and buried his face into his hands.

"Nothing is going in." Blaine told Kurt as he sat back at the table. He placed a hand on Blaine's arm. Blaine was panicking so much and he suddenly found it hard to breathe. His head was spinning and he felt dizzy. He clutched his hoodie, the fabric hurting his fingertips as he clutched it so tightly. He was hyperventilating but it felt like he was getting no air.

"I'm… go …going …to fail." He said, not looking up as he felt the room moving.

"Blaine, sweetie, calm down." Kurt said, his tone soft, "You're going to pass out if you don't calm down."

Blaine nodded, leaning his head down and trying to concentrate on his breathing. Kurt placed a hand on his shoulder, rubbing his arm gently.

"You're one of the best students in this school, you know you'll do fine." Kurt told him, trying to help Blaine come out of his panic attack. The small circles that he was drawing on Blaine's back was helping and after a couple of minutes his breathing slowed to a normal rate.

He looked at Kurt, feeling really cold and lightheaded. Kurt smiled at him, placing a hand on his cheek.

"You need a break Blaine." Kurt told him, "Come have lunch."

Blaine nodded, not saying anything as he gathered up his belongings. His chest hurt from breathing too fast and he considered taking his painkillers. There was only two missing from the prescription as he hadn't taken any since Wednesday. He didn't want to be completely out of it, especially at night when he was alone in the car park. Blaine decided against taking the painkillers as he followed Kurt to the car park.

Kurt drove as he was scared Blaine was going to have another panic attack. In the car, Blaine took out his notes and started to read them.

"Put them away." Kurt scolded.

"I need to revise." Blaine told him, "I don't just get things like you." He sounded angry and fed up.

"Well, stop revising until after we've eaten lunch and while Mercedes and I are shopping you can study in the food court, and then we can go to the cinema."

Blaine sighed, agreeing by putting his notes away.

"I don't have money for the cinema." he told Kurt, rubbing his arms as chills went through him. He worked on Sundays but that was his only income. He only had a little money left over from the money his Grandmother gave him, but not enough to be wasting now that he didn't have a roof over his head. He had spent most of the money on his education and necessities like his car. He had to start saving for somewhere to live now.

"I'll pay." Kurt smiled.

"You don't have to." Blaine sighed, feeling pathetic.

"You've paid for me before." Kurt reminded him of their first date.

"That was a date." Blaine pointed out.

"Just think of this as a date then." Kurt laughed. Blaine sighed, but was grateful for Kurt's generosity.

"Fuck." Blaine cursed an hour later. He was standing over a toilet which contained his just eaten sandwich. This wasn't accidental though. Blaine had felt so disgusting after eating that he had gone to the toilet and dry heaved over the bowl. After nothing came out, Blaine had still felt disgusting and very sick. He felt like he needed to throw up. He had forced two fingers to the back of his throat and emptied his stomach.

Blaine felt gross now but better. He couldn't understand it but he felt a satisfaction from forcing himself to throw up. He could do something right. Kurt was always going on about calories and what foods Blaine should and shouldn't eat, like all the cakes and biscuits he gobble down. Well, this way Kurt couldn't complain about his calorie intake and Blaine could keep on doing at least one thing right. It was the one thing he could control.

However, there was this nagging voice in the back of his head calling him stupid.

The words still seemed to be jumbling up on the page as Blaine studied in the food court. He was trying maths now but the sums were waving around and giving Blaine a headache. He was actually glad when Kurt and Mercedes finished shopping and dragged him away to the cinema which was on the top level of the mall.

The film was a chick flick so wasn't Blaine's type of film. He was all for romance but chick flicks were so predictable. He liked the suspense and twits; films that left you guessing.

It was nice when Kurt put his hand on Blaine's leg though, and when he lent over to whisper something in Blaine's ear and kissed his hair before going back to talk to Mercedes. Blaine's eyes began to drop and he soon fall asleep, head against Kurt's shoulder and hugging his arm.

"That's so cute." Mercedes cooed, looking over to him. Kurt looked at him adoringly. Blaine actually looked peaceful.

"He's been under a lot of stress lately, with school and everything." Kurt whispered to his best friend.

"Yeah, I thought you studied a lot, but it's nothing compared to Blaine." Mercedes whispered back, amazement in her tone. Kurt nodded and turned back to the film.

Blaine woke near the end, when the couple had just made up from whatever meaningless argument they were having and there was the big on-scene kiss. He sat up, blinking away the sleep and stretching his arms out in front of him. Kurt looked at him and smiled with laughter in his eyes.

"Your face is red where you slept on me." He laughed as the lights went on. Blaine felt his cheek and could feel Kurt's jumper's pattern engraved on his skin. Blaine then smiled as he realised that was the first time he had slept without having a nightmare since he was kicked out. He didn't wake up screaming or feeling like he was going to throw up or like someone was going to attack him. He felt relaxed and rested, even though he had only been asleep for about an hour. He smiled at Kurt, feeling like he should thank him. Instead he just stood up, following Kurt and Mercedes out of the cinema scene, wishing he could take Kurt's hand.

Blaine didn't pay attention as the two chatted about Gaps now clothes range and the cute handbag in one of the shops that they went to.

Blaine couldn't help but notice the way Kurt walked so near to him that their shoulders bumped occasionally and the smile he gave Blaine was so sweet and warm. It made Blaine smile and it filled him with warmth. It was like drinking a hot chocolate on a cold, rainy day. It started off as a small feeling, concentrated in just one place but then it washed over you and feeling like every inch of you was swimming in sunlight, but it wasn't just skin deep; it filled every single inch of you, inside and out.

Blaine agreed to go back to Kurt's house so they could have a study evening, so after saying goodbye to Mercedes and getting Blaine's car, they drove to the Hummel-Hudson household.

"Just in time for dinner." Carole told Kurt as they got through the door. Blaine suddenly felt nervous as he smelt chicken wafting around the house.

"We had a big lunch so it's only children salad." Carole told them as Kurt and Blaine took their shoes off at the door.

"Sounds great, is there enough for Blaine?" Kurt asked, straightening back up.

"That's ok, I'm not hungry." Blaine said before Carole could answer. Kurt looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"Blaine, all you've eaten today is a sandwich."

"I had a big breakfast." Blaine told him, "Me and Amber cooked a fry up this morning. It was huge."

Kurt raised his eyebrows again with a concerned looked on his face but Blaine succeeded as Kurt said,

"Fine, I believe you."

Blaine smiled politely at Carole as Kurt told him to go upstairs and he'll be up there soon. Blaine was glad of the lack of argument as he went into Kurt's room and sat on the edge of his bed. Blaine could see the disapproving look that will be in Kurt's face as he got his notes out once again and started reading up on Chemistry. The exam had three sections; Maths, English and a science. The students got to choose between Chemistry, Physics or Biology. The science papers added up to the same amount of points so each student had the same chance of passing.

Blaine liked Chemistry because it just seemed like logic to him; a bit like Maths. The right contribution of chemicals and conditions made another chemical and nothing could change that.

Sure enough, when Kurt came upstairs twenty minutes later, he gave Blaine a very stern look.

"Blaine, put the books away." Blaine tried to finish the sentence he was reading but Kurt stanched the book out of his hands.

"Hey!" Blaine yelled, half out of shock, half out of anger.

"You need to slow down." Kurt told him, setting down the book on his dresser and sitting next to Blaine, who looked at the book and then back at Kurt.

"You're just trying to beat me." Blaine said sourly, "You know you're smarter then me so you are trying to stop me studying, that's what this exam is, just one big competition and everyone knows that."

Kurt looked surprised at the sudden rant, his eyebrows raised slightly and his mouth open in a small 'o'.

"No Blaine." he said, regaining his composer and taking Blaine's hands. "I just don't want to see you down the ER again."

Blaine took a deep breath, trying not to snap again. He squeezed Kurt's hands in his, knowing that his boyfriend was just trying to help him.

"What? With an exploded head?" he smiled. Kurt laughed, putting his forehead against Blaine's.

"You did say were going to study though." Blaine pointed out, rubbing his nose against Kurt's. Kurt smiled, his eyelashes tinkling Blaine's skin.

"Yeah, but we can study together." Kurt explained, "We ask each other questions and when we get one right-" he finished his sentence by leaning in and kissing Blaine. Their lips connected and Blaine's heart seemed to melt at the touch. Kurt broke away too soon for his liking and smiled at him cheekily.

"I like this study method." Blaine breathed, smiling at Kurt.

An hour later and the books had been forgotten and they were lying in Kurt's double bed, cuddling and kissing.

"Mmmm…sweet boy kisses." Kurt mumbled against Blaine's lips, causing him to smile.

"It's nice." Blaine said, looking up at Kurt. He was leaning over Blaine, their faces close and their noses rubbing together.

Blaine couldn't help but notice different things about Kurt as their kissed and talked. The softness of his skin. The tiny freckles dotted across his nose and cheeks. How high his cheek bones are and the prefect angle of his jaw line. How smooth his hands were compared to the hard calloused hands that Blaine had. How beautiful Kurt's eyes were and how they seemed to change colour in different lights. Light blue to see green. How Kurt develops a cute pink blush over his pale skin, making it even more fun to kiss him. Not that it could get more fun because kissing Kurt Hummal was amazing and incredible and every other plosive descriptive word in the world.

Kurt lent their foreheads together, smiling down at Blaine, before kissing him again. It was slow and gentle and it made Blaine feel safe and warm.

"I love being here with you." He whispered, stroking Kurt's cheek and causing that cute blush again.

"Me too." Kurt smiled, "I wish the clock wasn't ticking away and getting so late."

"Hmmm." Blaine agreed, playing with a few strands of hair that had fallen over Kurt's forehead. Kurt moved so he was lying next to Blaine and wrapped his arms around him. A comfortable silence followed as they lied next to each other. Kurt had his arm round Blaine's stomach and Blaine had his round Kurt's shoulders.

Blaine could have easily fallen asleep in the comfortable bed with the boy he was beginning to realise he was in love with. Blaine wanted to tell him but he wasn't ready to be that vulnerable yet. To be that emotionally close to someone.

Amber popped back into Blaine's mind as Kurt fall asleep against him. Once again Blaine thought of how much easier it would be if he was straight. He would be at home looking after his little sister like he should be and he wouldn't have a stupid heavy cast on his arm.

Rachel suddenly came into his mind. When they had kissed at that party, Blaine had had this sudden surge of hope. If he was straight then everything would be ok. But when they had kissed again when sober Blaine had felt nothing. He had actually felt slightly disgusted. He had gone to the restroom and cried in frustration. He had felt cheated. He had been given some hope just for it to be taken away from him.

Kurt moved against him, nuzzling closer to Blaine's body. Blaine smiled, looking down at him. Kurt seemed to make all these thoughts and doubts go away. Kurt was the person he was meant to be with. He was sure of it. It didn't matter what anyone said or did, Blaine was in love with Kurt and nothing was going to change that.

Blaine had never understood why it was a sin to love someone anyway.

Blaine fell asleep against Kurt, leaning his chin on top of Kurt's head. It was a peaceful sleep, free of nightmares and terrors.

They were awoken a little while later by Burt knocking on Kurt's door to say it was late and Blaine should head home. Burt looked at them suspiciously as he found them curled up against each other but didn't say anything as Blaine gathered up his belongings. Kurt followed Blaine to his car to kiss him goodnight.

"I'll see you on Monday then." Kurt said, putting on a pout. Blaine nodded. He had work tomorrow and was working a late shift so there would be no time to see Kurt tomorrow. He was greatly upset by this. It meant tomorrow was going to be a bad day.

They shared a brief kiss and hug before Blaine got into his car and drove off. Kurt smiled and waved as he went. Blaine sighed as Kurt disappeared from his view. He missed him already.

Instead of driving to Dalton, Blaine went to his workplace. He worked in a guitar shop which also doubled as a café and bar. The shop was downstairs and upstairs had a bar and served food and coffee during the day and alcohol during the evening. It also had a small stage where local artists played at the weekends. Blaine had played there a couple of times.

He had worked there for years and had actually helped set the place up. The owner, Jon, had been friends with his Grandmother. He had been her neighbour and helped her with her garden. They had met and Jon had token Blaine under his wing. Jon was his oldest friend so knew him better then most people.

Blaine parked round the back of the store were there was a fenced off area where the deliveries came in. he had keys to the place so went in and turned off the security alarm. The lights came on, illustrating the slick bodies of the guitars. He went into the staff room which was a small room with a kitchen area one side and a seating area the other side. In the kitchen there was a fridge, a coffee machine and a microwave, along with a small table which had two chairs around it. There was a worn couch facing a TV in the seating area so people can relax in their breaks. The walls were covered in posters. Different bands and designs of guitars looked down at Blaine as he switched the coffee machine on. It buzzed to life as Blaine placed his books on the table and flipped open a book. He read Romeo and Juliet as he automatically got a mug and placed it under the coffee tap. Black liquid poured into the mug as Blaine read the scene where Romeo sees Juliet for the first time.

It was past midnight but Blaine felt like he hadn't done any work that day even though he had spent the majority of it buried in books. He also didn't want to sleep yet because he hated the nightmares.

When the coffee was ready, he moved onto the couch and sipped his drink, reading the play. The room was a bit cold so he tried to pull the hoodie tighter around him. The scent of Kurt was fading and this made Blaine sad. He needed to get Kurt to wear it again so the lovely smell comes back.

Blaine sat there for hours reading but his body overtook his mind and he finally fell asleep.

_Blaine looked up at the theatre, the words 'Wicked' glowing green down at him. He smiled as he walked up to the Box office. Kurt loved this musical but he had never seen it. Blaine was going to get him tickets and Kurt will love him for it. He was sure of t. _

"_Blaine!" A voice yelled desperately. Blaine turned around and saw Amber running towards him, waving in and out of people to get to him. _

"_Am! What's up? What are you doing here?" He asked as Amber threw herself at him. She was shaking and Blaine noticed that there was blood on her clothes and in her hair. _

"_He… He…." She cried, clutching Blaine's arms tightly. Her eyes were dull and thick tears were running down her cheeks. _

"_What's going on Amber?" Blaine asked, scared she was hurt. _

"_He…killed…him." She cried, shaking so hard that her legs gave out and she fell. Blaine caught her, holding her up. _

"_Who?" He asked. Amber shook her head, burying her face into his chest. _

"_Who? Who is it Amber?" Blaine asked desperately._

"_K…Kurt." Amber cried. Blaine's stomach seemed to drop and his heart stood still. _

"_He followed you two here." Amber cried, looking up at Blaine, "I… I tried to stop him… I'm sorry." _

_Blaine looked down at her, unable to speak. He felt numb. _

"_No." He breathed, tears falling without him realising. _

"_He's coming Blaine, we have to go, he'll kill us too." Amber told him, yelling again. She pulled at his arm but Blaine didn't move. He couldn't move. He was glued to the spot and all of his limbs felt heavy. _

"_Blaine!" Amber yelled urgently, pulling harder, "Come on!" _

_Suddenly there was a loud bang and a car horn went off, loud and long. Blaine didn't look up until Amber started screaming. The movement seemed so much effect. A car was speeding down the street and was coming straight towards them. Driving was their father, a crazed look on his face. _

_Without thinking, Blaine pushed Amber out of the way as the car mounted the kerb, rushing towards them. _

"_Blaine!"_

Blaine jumped awake, shaking and looking around. He was confused and it took a couple of seconds to realise where he was.

"Nightmare?" Asked a voice, causing Blaine to jump. He looked towards the kitchen area where Jon was standing, coffee in hand. He was 25 years old and was lanky man. He had a soft face with long brown hair which was pulled back into a ponytail. He also had a short beard and always wore a black band t-shirt and what seemed like a million beaded and thread bracelets.

Blaine got up, still shaking, and tried to tidy his unruly hair.

"Rough night?" Jon asked, handing him the coffee. Blaine smiled gratefully, not answering the rhetorical question. Jon looked over the papers on the table and laughed.

"It's a good thing you're not taking this paper next year." He said as Blaine yawned, "You get worse every year and if this year is anything to go by, you'll die from stress."

Blaine laughed, seeing truth in his words.

"Yeah, but next year I have to take university entry exams so I think I'll be a lot worse." He answered.

"Well, you're going to go on a fuckin' murder spree then." Jon told him, laughing as he made another coffee. Blaine yawned again, flinching as it strained his chest.

"What happened?" Jon asked, noticing the cast under the hoodie for the first tine.

"Fall down the stairs." Was Blaine's automatic response as he drank his coffee. Jon raised an eyebrow, not believing him.

"Sure it wasn't another blast of Daddy's temper."

"Just leave it, Jon." Blaine sighed, rubbing his temple. There was no point in lying to Jon; he could see right through him.

"You really should go to the Police about this, B." Job told him, concern in his voice.

"You know why I can't do that." Blaine snarled, now thinking sleeping at the shop was a bad idea, "So just drop the subject and move on."

"Fine, but if this happens again I'm going to have to tell them, B, I have no choice." Jon told him, before dropping the subject completely and concentrating on his coffee. Blaine sighed, finishing his drink in one large gulp, and then clearing the table of his school work.

"You can't work with the guitars today, you might scratch them with your cast so you can do the till." Jon told him, "It should be slow today so you can revise in-between customers."

Blaine nodded in thanks. Even if he hadn't broken his wrist, he was sure that Jon would still have given him the till so he could do some revision.

Jon was right. The day was slow. People mostly went upstairs to have lunch but the store was nearly died. A few teenagers came in, seeking guitar strings, and a man came in with his little son to buy his first guitar. Blaine watched Liam, the other weekend store hand, show them the selection of guitars. The young boy looked up at his father with a huge smile as they joked together.

Jon had given Blaine his first guitar. It had been one of his old ones and had stickers all over it from places where Jon had travelled to during his gap year. He had then helped Blaine buy his first new guitar after Blaine had worked a paper round and saved up for months.

His father had never been interested in anything that Blaine had done. Not even his school work. That's probably why Blaine used to get such bad grades; he was never encouraged to work hard. The only reason he started was because he realised the only way to get away from his father and keep Amber safe was if he had lots of money so he needed to be employable and he needed good grades for that.

"I've booked you a day off next Sunday." Jon told Blaine as they closed up the shop. Blaine was touched by this but also a bit concerned.

"I can't afford to take a shift off." Blaine told Jon.

"Look B." Jon said, "Once this exam is over I'll give you as many shifts as you want, but for now just concentrate on this exam."

Blaine smiled at him, grateful for such an understanding friend. Overall this day had been a good day. He was kept busy and no one nagged him too much about eating or taking breaks or anything like that. He also got a reasonable amount of revision done.

None of that seemed to matter though as Blaine drove back to Dalton, because he knew he had to go back to sleeping in his cold, dark car. He felt lonely again. He tried to fight the loneliness by putting in his headphones and playing Kurt's version of 'Don't cry for me Argentina'. It gave him some comfort as he fell asleep.

**Oh my God! Such a long chapter! Sorry if it took forever to read. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up because I haven't wrote it yet. I know what will happen though and hopefully it won't be as long as this one. Please review :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**10****th**** June 1999**

Blaine was nervous. His mummy had been away for a whole day now and he had been at his nanny's since early this morning. His daddy had woke him up when it was still dark outside and when everyone else had been asleep and dropped him off at her house. His nanny kept smiling and talking about a new little visitor.

Daddy picked them up in the afternoon, smiling as well which was very strange as daddy never smiled. He normally shouts and is angry at Blaine for leaving his toys everywhere and spilling food on the floor.

Blaine hears words like 'girl' and 'healthy' but he still doesn't know what is going on. It sounds strange and he is not sure if he likes what's going on. When they got home his daddy placed him down in front of the TV and Blaine watched Timon and Pumbaa while the grown ups talk around him. There seems to be a lot of excitement in the house but no one tells Blaine what is going on. His mummy still isn't around and Blaine really wants to see her because he doesn't like the way everyone is acting. He cuddles his Simba teddy, curled up on the safe, as he watches his daddy on the phone, still smiling. Blaine decides that daddy has a nice smile. It was bit and slightly goofy.

Blaine takes a nap but is woken a little while later by his daddy shaking him. He isn't smiling anymore, but has a scary and serious look.

"Your Mum wants to talk to you." He says. Blaine sits up, rubbing sleep from his little brown eyes.

"Did I do something wrong?" Blaine asked, fear in his small voice.

"No Sweetie." His nanny tells him. She is sitting next to him on the sofa.

"But if you misbehave when you're with your mum then you'll be in lots of trouble." His daddy tells him, his voice demanding. Blaine nodded nervously.

"Stop being so harsh with him." His nanny tells his daddy and they share stern looks. Blaine doesn't notice though as he is too busy trying to be good. He doesn't want his daddy mad. He wants him to smile again.

"She's upstairs." His daddy told him and Blaine is really nervous now. Mummy never stays upstairs. She is normally downstairs playing with him or cooking or organising things for the church that they go to on Sundays.

He crept upstairs, still clutching his Simba teddy. He quietly knocked on his parent's bedroom door and opened it. His mummy was sitting on the bed, the duvet covering her lap. She looked tired but happy as she smiled down at a bundle of blankets in her arms. She looked over to Blaine as he popped his head round the door. He thought his mummy looked very pretty, with her long, straight dark hair and her sun-kissed skin; like a princess from one of his films that his daddy hated him watching.

"Come over here Blaine." His mummy said, patting the space next to her on the bed. He obeyed slowly. He normally wasn't allowed on their bed. He climbed up and crawled over to his mummy. He saw what was in the bundle of blankets. It was a baby!

Its eyes were closed and their tiny hands were curled in little firsts. They had a mop of blonde, curly hair; just like daddy had in a picture Blaine had seen of when he was little.

"This is your little sister Amber." His mummy told him as Blaine looked at the baby curiously.

"She's so small." Blaine said, as he looked at her in amazement. He had never seen someone so small before. He stayed back a little bit, scared to be too near.

"She'll grew." His mummy laughed, "You're a big brother now and you have to look after your little sister, especially when me or your Daddy isn't around."

Blaine felt like this was a big thing to ask. He didn't know how to look after a baby. Don't they need feeding and bathing? What would he feed her?

"Do you think she'll want my teddy?" Blaine asked, holding up Simba. That was the best he could offer at the moment. He felt safe when he was hugging Simba so Simba could comfort Amber when she was sad as well. His mummy's smile was soft as she nodded.

"I think she'll love it."

Blaine put his teddy gently beside Amber and gently stroked her head. She stirred slightly, making Blaine jump and move his hand back. His mummy laughed gently.

"It's ok, she probably likes it."

"Does she like me?" Blaine asked, leaning his head against his Mummy's arm and looking at his little sister settle back down and fall asleep in his mummy's arms.

"She loves you Blaine."

Blaine smiled.

"I love her too."

**28****th**** November 2000**

Blaine covered his ears with his hands as he heard a crash downstairs. Shouts followed. His parents were arguing again. This time it was about a man that had smiled at mummy at church. The yells were mixed together with cries. Baby's cries.

Blaine wondered if his parents had heard them on that walkie talkie thing that told them when Amber was crying. The cries kept on going and no one came upstairs. Just more shouts. Blaine sat up, looking around his dark room. The only source of light was his nightlight and the tiny bit of light that crept under the door from the hallway.

Blaine hated the dark. You didn't know what was out there, waiting to get you. It was made worse by his dad yelling at his mummy and throwing things to make sudden crashes and smashes.

Amber sounded scared as well. These weren't her normal hungry or I'm-dirty-change-me cries. Amber needed him Blaine decided. He clutched his comfort blanket in his hands and slowly got off the bed. He needed to get to the other side of the room to turn on the light but he was scared a monster might meet him halfway.

_Ok_, he thought, hugging his blanket to his chest, _on the count of three... one... two... three._

He sprinted across the room and opened the door, blinking as light erupted into his eyes. The yells were louder now as Blaine crept across the top of the stairs. He could see his mummy crying downstairs and he wanted to run down and hug her, but he decided that Amber needed him more so continued to creep along the corridor and into Amber's room. He left the door open so light filled the room and ran over to her cot.

Amber was one now but Blaine still thought she was tiny. Her face was screwed up and red with tears. She had kicked her blanket off and was waving her arms around, looking for someone to pick her up. The cot was too tall for Blaine to reach over and hug her so knelt down next to the cot instead.

"Shh, it's ok Amber." Blaine told her, reaching in between the wooden bars to hold her hand. She grasped his finger tightly, looking at him, tears still pouring down her chubby cheeks. Her eyes were wide, her brown orbs shiny. Her cries decreased but sobs were still escaping her tiny mouth.

"I'll look after you." Blaine said quietly, stroking her thick blonde curls like his mummy did for him when he was upset.

"You can share my blanket with me." He told her, slipping a corner of his blue blanket through the bars. Amber clutched it in her other hand and Blaine smiled. It was the first time he realised that he wasn't alone. Normally he had to stay in bed all alone and attempt to cover the noise by covering his head with his Toy Story duvet, but now he had responsibility. He had to look after his little sister. It was nice not being on his own though. It wasn't as scary.

Amber's cries stopped as she rubbed the blanket against her face and looked at Blaine.

"I'll sing you a song." Blaine smiled, leaning his head against the bars, "You like Mulan, don't you?"

Amber didn't answer but just kept on looking at him with her big eyes. He loved singing, especially Disney songs, but his dad told him off for being a 'poof' so he tried not to sing that often.

'**Look at me**

**You may think you see**

**Who I really am**

**But you'll never know me**

**Everyday its as if I play a part**

**Now I see**

**If I wear a mask**

**I can fool the world**

**But I can't fool**

**My heart'**

Amber slowly shut her eyes, listening to Blaine's soft, small voice. He managed to mute the yelling slightly so the loudest thing in the room was his voice.

'**Who is that girl I see**

**Staring straight back at me?**

**When will me reflection show**

**Who I am inside?**

**I am now**

**In a world where I have to**

**Hide my heart**

**And be loved for who I am**

**Who is that girl I see**

**Staring straight back at me?**

**Why is my reflection**

**Someone I don't know?**

**Must I pretend that I'm**

**Someone else for all time?**

**When will my reflection show**

**Who I am inside?'**

Blaine laid down on the floor next to the cot, his hand still holding Amber's. Half of the blanket was over him and he kept on singing, the sound not just comforting Amber but him as well.

'**There's a heart that must**

**Be free to fly**

**That burns with a need**

**To know the reason why**

**Why must we all conceal**

**What we think**

**How we feel**

**Must there be a secrete**

**I'm forced to hide?**

**I won't pretend that I'm**

**Someone else**

**For all time**

**When will my reflection show**

**Who I am inside?'**

Blaine fell asleep, listening to Amber's soft breathing, her finger clutching his finger tightly.

**15****th**** April 2002**

Blaine was shaken awake by a woman in a Police uniform.

"Come on, wake up." She said in a soft voice. Blaine looked around confused. He was in Amber's room, having snuck in there earlier when his parents had been arguing downstairs. He had fallen asleep cuddling his sister and singing 'You've got a friend in me'. It was still dark outside and the house was quiet, with no arguing or fighting going on.

"What's going on?" Blaine asked, wrapping his arms tightly around his still sleeping sister.

"You're going to have to come with us." The police officer said. Blaine then noticed that there was a man in a police uniform lingering in the doorway.

"Where's our Mummy?" Blaine asked as Amber stirred. She started crying when she found strange people in her room.

"She had to go somewhere for a little while." The woman explained, "You're going to go stay with some nice people while your parents are away."

"I don't want to go." Blaine said, scared. He held onto Amber, "Can Nanny come here?"

"Your Nanny is not well enough at the moment to look after you." The woman replied softly, "So you have to go to this friendly house where other children go."

"Like Never Never land?" Blaine asked, tears in his eyes. He wanted to make things better and easier to understand. He wanted these people to be Peter Pan and Tinker Bell and he wanted to fly away with them to fight pirates and play with the lost boys.

"Yes, like Never Never land." The woman said kindly.

"Blainey, what happening?" Amber asked, looking up at her big brother.

"It's ok, Am, we're going to see Peter Pan and Tink." Blaine told her, knowing it was a lie but trying to comfort her. He moved so he was standing on the floor. He was cold in his Bugs Bunnies pjs. Amber clung to Blaine's arm, moving with him.

"You need to get some clothes." The woman said. Blaine nodded, wiping the tears away.

"My clothes are in my room." He told her, holding Amber's hand tightly.

"Ok." The woman said, "My name is Carey and this is Henry."

The man smiled down at them. He was tall but young. If he had normal clothes on then he might not be as scary, Blaine decided. He tried to imagine the Police officer in metal armour so he was a knight or a brave prince coming to take them away from all the smashed plates, bruised faces and fighting.

"I'll get Amber's clothes with her and you can go with Henry." Carey told Blaine.

"No." He said, wondering how they knew Amber's name, "Amber is staying with me."

He led Amber out of the room and into his own room, ignoring the Police. He sat Amber on his bed and gave her his blanket to hold, and started to pull clothes out of his draws and into his Bug Life backpack that held his school reading book.

"We fly?" Amber asked, hugging the blanket against her chest. Her hair was down and the curls bounced as she moved her head. She looked confused and tired.

"Yeah, Am." Blaine answered, smiling at her, "But not until tomorrow."

Amber nodded, her eyes tired and closing slightly.

"I want Sim-Sim." She mumbled.

"Who's Sim-Sim?" Henry asked from the doorway. He was holding a Sleeping Beauty bag which Blaine knew had Amber's clothes in.

"It's her Simba teddy, she can't sleep without it." Blaine told him. Henry nodded and went back to Amber's room to get the toy.

"We have to go now." Carey said. She went up to Amber, attempting to pick her up.

"No!" Amber yelled, backing away from the women's outstretched arms. Blaine ran to Amber's side, shielding her from the Police officer. Amber wrapped her arms round Blaine's neck, burying her face into his neck.

"It's ok." Blaine told her, rubbing her back. Her whole body was shaking with sobs as she didn't know what was happening. Blaine didn't know either but he knew he had to look after Amber. His mummy had told him to when they weren't there.

"Come on, Am, we have to go."

Amber nodded, getting off the bed and holding Blaine's hand. Carey led them downstairs, where there was broken glass and china everywhere. The coffee table had been overturned and last night leftovers were thrown all over the kitchen table and floor. Blaine got Amber's coat and placed it over her small body, and helped her put on her shoes. Carey had to do the laces though as he hadn't learnt how yet. After both the children had their coats and shoes on, they were led to a Police car outside. Blaine looked at it nervously. Bad people get in Police cars. Had they done something wrong?

They climbed into the backseat and Amber cuddled up to Blaine, sucking her thumb and rubbing Blaine's blanket against her face.

"Where we going?" Amber asked, her voice small. Blaine wrapt an arm round her small shoulders while glaring at Henry who got into the driver's seat. There was glass separating them from the front. The Police officer had Amber's teddy and he gave it to Carey so he could drive.

"Never Never Land." Blaine told his sister, "Remember how to get there?"

Amber nodded.

"Flying."

"Second star to the right and straight on until morning." Blaine corrected her, "I'll get us there, just go to sleep."

Amber didn't need telling twice. She held Blaine's hand and went to sleep. Blaine tried to stay awake but he was too tired and fall asleep as well, his head resting on Amber's, and dreaming of lost boys, mermaids and pirates.

When Blaine woke up the car had just pulled to a stop. That was the first thing he noticed. The second was that Amber was gone.

"Where's Amber?" Blaine asked as Carey opened the back door.

"There wasn't enough room at the house she is staying at so you have to stay at this house." She explained gently. Blaine shook his head, backing away from Carey's outstretched hands.

"No! I need to stay with Amber." Blaine yelled, angry and scared.

"Blaine, there isn't anywhere else you can stay." Carey told him. Another woman came up to the car at that moment. She was slightly plump with a kind face. It was early in the morning, so she was wearing a dressing grown, and fluffy slippers.

"Hello Officer." She said pleasantly, shaking Henry's hand. She then looked into the car where Blaine was curled up in a corner, yelling at Carey.

"I want Amber!"

"Let me try." The woman offered. Carey moved out of the way and the woman popped her head into the door.

"Hello Sweet pea." She smiled at Blaine, "My name is Ms Isabelle and I am going to be looking after you for a little while."

"I want Amber! Take me to her!" Blaine yelled, angry tears in his eyes.

"Well, why don't you come inside and have a biscuit and we'll talk about where Amber is?" Ms Isabelle asked. Blaine shook his head, glaring at her and hating all of them for taking Amber away.

"I'm not moving until I get Amber back." He told her, meaning every word. They wouldn't leave him out here forever.

Carey and Ms Isabelle kept trying to persuade him but nothing they did, said or bribed him with worked. He stopped talking altogether and stared out of the window, watching the sun slowly come up. The women finally gave up and went into the large house for a cup of coffee.

Henry slid into the seat next to him. He had token his hat off and looked slightly less scary now. Blaine's cheek was against the window and tears were slowly rolling down his cheeks. The sky was a dark blue colour and Blaine could see they were in a normal looking street with detached houses along each side of the road. The house they wanted him to go in had an extension either side making it larger than the rest.

"I want my sister." Blaine mumbled before the Police officer could say anything.

"I know." Henry said. There was silence for a little while. Blaine refused to speak. He was scared. He didn't like being on his own and he was worried that Amber was scared without him.

"I have a little sister." Henry finally said, turning in his seat to look at Blaine, "I use to stand up to bullies for her."

Blaine still didn't say anything. He hiccupped and curled himself up tighter into a ball.

"I think you're being very brave, Blaine." Henry said, matter-of-factly. Blaine looked up at that. Henry was looking at him kindly but Blaine recognised the look of sadness in his eyes.

"Really?" Blaine asked. His dad always called him a coward or a girl. It was nice that someone thought he was brave. Henry nodded.

"You really care about Amber; you must be really frightened right now because everything is so strange but all you can think of is your little sister."

"I want to see her." Blaine said, angrily.

"I know, but she's probably asleep right now." Henry told him, "But I can promise you that Amber is being looked after by very nice people."

"When can I see her?" Blaine asked.

"I don't know but someone will come and talk to you later today."

"I want to see her now though." Blaine said, renewed tears coming to his eyes.

"She is asleep; you don't want to wake her, do you?" Henry asked. Blaine thought about it for moment before shaking his head. He buried his face in his drawn up knees. He felt defeated.

"Why don't you just go in and have a nap and then you can talk to someone about seeing Amber later?" Henry suggested. Blaine stayed silent, hugging his knees tightly.

"You must be tired."

Blaine nodded.

"I'll go in with you."

Blaine looked up. Henry's eyes were warm and kind and Blaine liked them

"O… ok." Blaine gave in. Henry smiled at him and it was a friendly smile. He held out a hand and Blaine took it. He was tired enough to let Henry led him into the house.

Ms Isabelle smiled at him as they walked into the kitchen. There was a young girl sitting at the table with the two women. She was about six years old and was drawing. She looked up and smiled at Blaine but he didn't return it.

"Do you want something to eat Blaine?" Ms Isabelle asked. He shook his head.

"Ok, well I have a bedroom set up for you but you have to share with another boy, Daniel." She explained. Blaine didn't reply but hung onto Henry's hand. Ms Isabelle got up and came over to Blaine. He looked away, moving closer to Henry. He felt safe with Henry. He was kind and Blaine felt like he understood him.

"Do you want to follow me then?" Ms Isabelle asked. Blaine stayed silent but Henry tagged at his hand and followed the woman upstairs, so Blaine was gently led along. There were many doors upstairs and Blaine found that very scary. He wondered what was behind all of them.

"What's going on?" Came a sleepy voice as they walked into one of the rooms. It was bigger than Blaine's room, with blue walls and two beds on opposite sides of the room. On one bed a boy about the age of ten was sitting up, rubbing his eyes.

"Sorry to wake you Daniel." Ms Isabelle said, "We have a new boy staying with us, this is Blaine."

Daniel glared at Blaine before getting out of bed and walking out of the room. This confused Blaine and he looked up at Henry questionable.

"He likes having his own room." Ms Isabelle explained, going to the other bed and pulling the duvet back, "He'll come round to the idea, don't worry."

"You're going to leave me now, aren't you?" Blaine asked, sitting on the bed. Henry knelt down beside him.

"I'm afraid so." He said, "But I'll come check up on you as soon as I can." He pulled the duvet over Blaine and ruffled his hair. Blaine managed a smile, lying back into the pillows.

"Have a nap and you can meet everyone else later." Ms Isabelle said.

"See you Kiddo." Henry smiled at him. Blaine remained silent, too worn out to do anything. They went to leave but Blaine set up quickly.

"Where's my blanket?" he asked.

"The blue one? I thought it was Amber's, I gave it to her." Henry told him. Blaine's eyes grew wide.

"What?" he asked, his voice quivering. Henry sat on the bed next to him.

"Think about it in a good way, Blaine, Amber has something that will make her think of you, it will probably comfort her." Henry told him. Blaine nodded, think tears falling from his eyes. Henry gave him a sad smile and squeezed his shoulder gently before both adults left.

Blaine laid down, burying his face into the pillow. It smelt of cheap washing powder and play dough for some reason. It didn't smell like home. It was also really thin and uncomfortable but Blaine didn't care as he was crying too hard to care about anything. His small body rocked with heavy sobs. They soaked the pillows and Blaine's cheeks. He slowly went to sleep, dreaming of dragons, zombies and monsters. Somewhere amongst all the terrors was a knight.

**22****nd**** August 2004 **

Blaine stared up at the ceiling. He could hear his parents shouting below and the floor shook as fists hit walls and china smashed.

"This is all your fault! If you didn't let him act like such a girl all the time then he could be able to join in with sports like normal boys!" Blaine heard his father yell at his mother. He sighed, turning over so he was facing towards the door. He put his arm over his eyes. It was covered in a bandaged and the rough fabric rubbed against his skin.

"He likes football! He is acting like a boy" His mother yelled back.

"But every time he gets out on the patch he gets hurt! He is an embarrassment!" His father yelled. Another shook filled the house as his father punched something downstairs. Blaine felt tears prickly at the corner of his eyes.

"You let him prance around singing all those fucking songs! No wonder he gets knocked down within ten seconds of being on the patch! You've made him an easy target"

"No, he is just small!"

"Because of you! You obviously don't feed him properly! I was twice his size when I was his age! Start being a good mother and he'll grow"

Blaine squeezed his eyes shut as he heard his mother start to cry. Tears fall down his cheeks as another smash filled the house. His mother sounded so scared and hurt but he was too scared himself to go downstairs. He didn't want to get hurt.

"Blaine?"

Blaine opened his eyes and found Amber standing before him, her eyes red from crying. She was wearing a pink night dress and Simba was held tightly by her side. Her hair was loose from it's usually pig tails and was bouncing on her small shoulders.

"They're fighting again." She whispered, shaking slightly. Blaine moved over towards the wall and pulled the duvet back so Amber could slip in next to him. She wrapped her arms round his stomach and buried her face in his chest. Blaine winced as Amber's cold feet wrapt themselves round his legs and he rubbed her back in small circles.

"Why are they fighting this time?" She asked.

"Because of me." Blaine sighed. Amber lifted her head up and looked at him. He looked away, feeling ashamed. The fight was his fault and Amber was upset because of him. She stroked the bandage that was around Blaine's arm. She was gently, with a curious look on her face.

"Because you got hurt?" She asked. Blaine nodded, staring up at the ceiling. He played with Amber's hair, twisting his fingers around her curls. She reached up and did the same thing, twisting Blaine's dark curls around and around. It calmed them both down. It always had.

"Sing to me." Amber said, quietly. She sounded scared and slightly broken. It was a heart breaking sound coming from a five year old. Five year olds should be full of joy and adventure and imagination. Instead fear filled Amber and Blaine for that matter. Fear and caution and dread.

"I can't." Blaine whispered back, "I shouldn't sing anymore."

"Why not?" Amber asked, fresh tears welling up in her eyes.

"It makes Dad mad."

"But I like you singing." Amber told him, "Please sing to me, I won't tell Daddy."

Blaine hesitated. He could still hear his parent's shouting and a crash filled the house, shaking the bed and making both of them jump. Amber started to cry harder, burying her head in his chest.

"It's ok." Blaine whispered, rubbing her back, "I'm here."

"Please sing, Blaine." She begged. He nodded and started to sing quietly so only Amber could hear.

**I can show you the world**

**Shiny, shimmering, splendid**

**Tell me, princess, now when did you**

**Last let your heart decided?**

**I can open your eyes**

**Take you wonder by wonder**

**Over, sideways and under**

**On a magic carpet ride**

**A whole new world**

**A new fantastic point of view**

**No one to tell us no or where to go**

**Or say we're only dreaming**

**A whole new world**

**A dazzling place I never knew**

**But when I'm way up here, it's crystal clear**

**That now I'm in a whole new world with you**

**Now I'm in a whole new world with you**

Amber joined in singing with Blaine, her voice small and slightly muffled because she had her face hidden in his night shirt.

**Unbelievable sights**

**Indescribable feeling**

**Soaring, tumbling, freewheeling**

**Through an endless diamond sky**

**A whole new world**

**Don't you dare close your eyes**

**A hundred thousand things to see**

**Hold your breath it gets better**

They loved singing this song together. Blaine had promised Amber ages ago that they would travel the world together and see everywhere. First they had to go to Disney World though and see Mickey Mouse and the rest of their favourite characters.

**I'm like a shooting star**

**I've come so far**

**I can't go back to where I used to be**

**A whole new world**

**Every turn a surprise**

**With new horizons to pursue**

**Every moment red letter**

**I'll chase them anywhere**

**There's time to spare**

**Let me share this whole new world with you**

A quiet snore told Blaine that Amber was asleep and he gently kissed her hair the way their mother does when Amber falls asleep in her arms.

**A whole new world**

**That's where we'll be**

**A thrilling chase**

**A wondrous place**

**For you and me.**

Blaine stopped singing and closed his eyes. Amber looked peaceful and calm and her breathing smoothed him. He decided that he will keep on singing as long as it made her happy. It didn't matter what his dad thought. As long as Amber was happy, that was all Blaine cared about.

**08****th**** March 2007**

"Mr Anderson, pay attention!"

Blaine jumped at his desk and looked up. His English teacher, Mr Charles, was towering over him. Blaine could feel the eyes of the other students on him. He had been sleepily staring out of the window. His parents had had a really bad fight last night which had lasted until the early hours of the morning. The neighbours had actually called the Police and they had to come round to tell them to keep it down.

He hadn't got a lot of sleep and was in no mood for school.

"Sorry Sir." He mumbled, picking up his pen and pretending to get to work.

"If you spent the same amount of time studying as you do day dreaming then you would be a genius, Anderson." Mr Charles told him, "Get your head out of the clouds."

Blaine didn't say anything but started writing down the notes that were on the board. As soon as Mr Charles turned around, Blaine put his pen back down and stared out of the window again.

_What was the point of school anyway?_ He thought bitterly.

The bell rung and the class emptied. Mr Charles called for Blaine to stay behind but he just walked straight past him and out of the classroom. He was in too much of a rush and too tired to deal with the grumpy old fool's rubbish.

"Oi! Blaine, wait up!"

A boy caught up with him. He had blonde hair and was wearing a football jacket.

"Charles says you have a detention." He told Blaine. Blaine shrugged, not caring.

"You coming round? The games on."

"Sorry Russ, I can't, I've got to go pick up Amber." Blaine told him. Russ sighed heavily.

"Mummy's boy."

Blaine glared at him.

"Leave it Russ."

"Whatever, you need to get a life." Russ then ran off, meeting up with some of his football friends. Blaine watched them sourly. He and Russ had been friends for years but since Russ joined the football team they had began to distance. Russ was always hanging out with his team mates while Blaine had to look after Amber all the time. It was annoying because Russ acted like he was better than him and it pissed him off.

Amber was waiting for Blaine at the gate of her school. She looked tired but smiled at him as he came up to her.

"Hi." She said cheerfully, grabbing hold of his arm. Blaine smiled down at her. Amber always seemed to be cheerful and lively, even if they had been up all night.

"How was school?" Blaine asked as they started to walk home.

"It was ok, we had a maths test and I got the top mark." Amber told him. Blaine smiled down at her proudly.

"Gym was horrible though." Amber grumbled, "I hate gym, we had to do track!"

They lived a short distance away so they arrived home in just ten minutes.

"Mum, we're home." Blaine called as they walked through the door. Their mother normally greeted them with a forced smile while holding her early glass of wine. Instead there was their father who was sitting on the sofa, fists clutched and his whole body tense. He was normally at work or the bar at this time so this was a very rare and worrying sight.

"You're home early." Blaine said, putting his bag down and looking at his father.

"She left." He said, his tone angry. Blaine frowned, confused.

"What?" He asked.

"She fucked off!" His father roared, standing up. Amber whimpered next to Blaine.

"Your fucking Mother! She just upped and left!" Their father yelled before throwing a screwed up bit of paper at them and storming out of the house, slamming the door behind him. Blaine and Amber stared at the door, shocked and confused.

"What's going on?" Amber asked, "What does Dad mean? Is Mum really gone?"

Blaine didn't reply but bent down and picked up the piece of paper, and sat on the sofa. He straightened the paper out and read it.

_Dear Blaine, _

Blaine was very surprised that it was addressed to just him and he felt slightly violated that his father had already read it.

_I am sorry but I am unable to live in this house any longer. I've left and I am not planning on coming back anytime soon. I just cannot live in fear of your Father anymore. It is ruining my whole life. I need to breathe again._

_Look after Amber and I promise that we will see each other again. If you want to of course. I would understand if you never want to speak to me again after this._

_All my love_

_Mom_

Blaine didn't speak for a little while. Just stared at the words on the page.

"She's really gone." Blaine mumbled. Amber shook her head and started to cry. She hadn't believed it until Blaine had said it. He put his arms round her and pulled her close. Amber climbed into lap and cried into the nock of his neck.

He felt angry. Angry and betrayed. He wanted to punch something but he couldn't because Amber needed him. She was crying so hard and her whole body was rocking with sobs.

_How could she just leave?_ Blaine asked himself, _Without them?_

"It's ok." He mumbled, stroking Amber's hair, "It's going to be alright." He repeated this again and again until she calmed down slightly and she was just left hiccupping with stray tears falling down her cheeks. Her eyes were red and her face wet from crying. Neither of them had anything to say. There was too much pain. Too much hurt.

"What are we going to do?" Amber asked quietly. Blaine looked down at her and gave her a small, reassuring smile.

"We still have each other." He told her. She looked up at Blaine, her eyes wide and panicky.

"You won't leave me, will you?"

Blaine was shocked by the question and it actually brought tears to his eyes to see how sad and scared Amber looked.

"I promise that I'm not going anyway." Blaine told her, "I would never leave you." He then pulled Amber close to him, hugging her tightly.

"I will never leave you."

**30****th**** September 2008 **

Blaine's hands were shaking. He was so nervous. But he couldn't do this any longer. It was hard enough being in High School without having to keep such a big secret. It felt like it was eating him from the inside out. He defiantly had to tell someone.

Blaine went into the boys changing rooms just after football practice finished. Boys were laughing, showering and walking around bare chest. He walked through them, keeping his eyes down as he made his way to Russ's locker. He blushed as he saw the boy he was currently crushing on. His name was Tom and he had just got out the shower so was just sporting a towel wrapped around his waist. The older Sophomore had light brown hair and piercing blue eyes, and was tall and well built after playing football and basketball so much. Blaine felt himself go hot as Tom walked past them and their arms bumped. Blaine's arm was now wet and he turned briefly to look at Tom. He could see droplets drip down Tom's shoulder blades and down his back, landing to settle on the towel.

"Hey Blaine."

Blaine shook himself and looked up to meet Russ's eyes.

"How did practice go?" Blaine asked, leaning against the lockers and trying to keep his eyes off all the naked flash.

"Yeah, same old really." Russ said, drying himself off and puling his trousers on, "Still getting grief off this lot for being a Fresher though." He said this with a smile on his face and a boy next to him laughed,

"Just toughing you up, Newbie."

"Anyway, what's up man?" Russ asked Blaine. He hesitated, watching the other boy clap Russ on the back and leave.

"I need to tell you something." Blaine said quietly.

"Ok, shoot." Russ said, pulling on his shirt and looking at him.

"It's… It's kinda private." Blaine mumbled as another boy walked past them. Russ frowned but nodded.

"Ok then, let's go."

They walked out of the changing rooms, with Russ saying goodbye to his team mates as they went. They walked silently to an empty classroom; the school already emptied as it was after lessons had finished.

"So, what's up?" Russ asked, sitting on the teacher's desk and looking at Blaine. Blaine paced the space in front of the desk, rolling his hands over each other with nervousness. He felt like his whole body was shaking and his heart was racing. He really was going to do this. He really was coming out.

"There's something… something I need to tell you."

"Yeah ok, I'm listening." Russ said, looking slightly bored. Blaine bit his lip and looked at him.

Now or never.

"I'm gay." Blaine said. It was rushed and panicked but he felt a wave of relief wash over him. He was out. The feeling didn't last long though as he watched a look of disgust come to Russ's face. He stood up, moving away from Blaine.

"Seriously?" he asked.

Blaine suddenly wanted to lie and say it was just a joke. They would laugh about it and carry on as if nothing had happened. But he couldn't do that. He wasn't just about to creep back into the closet now he was out.

"Ye… Yes." Blaine said, trying to sound confident but failing.

"But you were just in the boys changing room." Russ said, sounding angry. This confused Blaine and he frowned.

"That's disgusting." Russ scowled, "We don't want people like you looking at us."

"I'm not looking at anyone!" Blaine said, feeling hurt and most of all angry at the accusation. Russ glared at him, walking towards the door.

"I don't want you anywhere near me." He yelled at Blaine. Blaine felt like Russ had just punched him.

"I'm the same person." Blaine yelled back.

"Stay away from me and stay out of the changing rooms." Russ told him as if he was saying a threat, "Fucking faggot."

He left, leaving Blaine shocked and silent. He wanted to yell. He wanted to cry. He wanted to punch something. He had been friends with Russ since Kindergarten. He had trusted Russ. He had thought Russ would understand him and accept him. But something tells him that he had just made the biggest mistake of his life.

Blaine rushed out of the school, keeping his head down and praying that he didn't meet anyone. He had no doubt where Russ had gone. The whole school was going to know by tomorrow.

Amber was already home, doing her homework at the kitchen table.

"What's wrong?" She asked as Blaine threw his bag down.

"Nothing." He mumbled, sitting down at the table and burying his face in his arms. Amber said nothing and the room remained silent as Blaine thought of possible ways to change the course of events that was already taking place. He felt like crap. His life was pretty much over.

About ten minutes later they heard a door slam and their father came storming into the kitchen. Before Blaine could even look up, his father had grabbed him by his hair and pulled his head up and backwards. Blaine cried out in pain and shock.

"A fag? A fucking fag!" His father yelled.

"How did you find out?" Blaine asked, shocked that the news had travelled that fast.

"I've had people calling me up at work and mocking me about it down the line!" The man told him, fury in his eyes. Amber looked at the scene with a scared expression on her face, unsure of what to do.

"I didn't raise you to be a disgusting queer!" Their father yelled, making Blaine quiver in fright and anger.

"I can't help who I am Dad." He said, trying to get out of the man's grip by pulling forward. His father shoved his head forward hard, causing Blaine's face to slam into the table. Another cry of pain escaped his mouth as blood flowed from his nose.

"Dad! Stop it!" Amber yelled, standing up and looking at Blaine with tears in her eyes.

"You're going to one of them camps that will make you straight!" Their father yelled, "I'm not having a queer for a son! Not in my family."

Blaine nursed his nose, angry tears prickling the corner of his eyes.

"This is you fucking mother's fault! The whore made you this way."

He pulled on Blaine's hair again, taking a large clump of it his fist, and pulled Blaine's head back so their eyes meet. The look of his father's eyes made Blaine shake with fear. They were so cold and so mad.

"If you dare act on these disgusting, sick feelings of yours God help me, because you will not live to do it again." His father warned him, his tone low and sharp. He let go of Blaine and then stormed out of the house, probably to go to his favourite place; the local bar.

Blaine kept his eyes on the table, shaking with contained tears and anger. He refused to look up. He didn't want to see another disgusted face. Seeing Amber look at him like that would probably kill him.

"Here."

Blaine looked up and saw Amber holding out some kitchen towel. Her face was soft and sympathetic. He took the towel and wiped his face.

"Aren't you going to tell me how disgusting and wrong I am?" He asked sourly. Amber responded by wrapping her arms around him and leaning down to nuzzle her face in his neck.

"I love you Blaine." She said frankly, "Nothing is going to change that."

Blaine smiled as tears released themselves. He smiled through his tears and his blood. He held Amber's hands tightly, a small sense of relief flowing through him.

"Thank you." He cried, "Thank you."

**26****th**** May 2009 **

Blaine smiled at the boy sitting next to him. He had ginger hair and was wearing a smart black suit. They were sitting on a bench outside their school's gym hall waiting for his dad to pick them up. It was dark and nearly all the cars had gone.

"Well, that was…" Blaine started.

"Awkward?" The other boy offered. They both laughed, avoiding each other's eyes.

They had spent the evening standing on the edge of the dance floor, making small talk over the loud music and avoiding all the glares and hatred from the other students.

"Thank you for coming with me though, Zack." Blaine said, smiling at him. Zack nodded.

"It was nice, one step forward for the gays."

They both laughed again, looking at each other this time. Blaine noticed that their faces were quite close. All he had to do was lean forward and their lips would be touching.

"Hey, look what we have here."

Blaine and Zack looked up to see the majority of the football team come from inside the hall. Russ was amongst them.

"It looks like we have us a pair of queers." A Junior laughed. Blaine and Zack stood up and glared at them.

"Just leave us alone." Blaine said firmly. He stood a little bit in front of Zack, feeling protective over him.

"We don't like the way you're spreading you're gay all over our school." Russ snarled.

"We're just going to have to teach you a lesson." Another boy said. The group came closer, backing the two boys into a wall. Blaine could feel Zack shaking and he grabbed Blaine's arm. The footballers were just laughing. This was just a joke to them.

What happened next is just a blur to Blaine.

Someone grabbed him and Zack and he were torn apart and punches were thrown. They were kicked and thrown around, and laughed at as they were left there, bleeding and beaten.

"Blaine! Blaine!"

Blaine remembers Zack yelling his name. Telling him to stay awake. But he couldn't he was too tired. Tired of everything. So he let himself slip into darkness. He welcomed the darkness and let it surround him.

When Blaine woke up, the first thing he noticed was the incredible pain in his chest and head. He opened his eyes to find himself in a hospital bed with Amber, his Nan and Zack round him.

"Blaine!" Zack said, standing up from his chair. He had a black eye and a bandage on his forehead.

"Are you ok?" Blaine asked, trying to sit up. He didn't get very far though as pain ripped through his body and he let out a cry of pain.

"Lie back down, Blaine," His Nan told him. He looked over to her to see her looking very pale and fragile.

"You shouldn't be here Nan." Blaine told her, settling back down on the bed.

"Dad refused to come," Amber said, quietly. She had tears in her eyes and she looked very tired.

"Jon drove us." His Nan told him, "He's in the waiting room."

"What's the time?" Blaine asked, putting a hand on his chest and wincing. It felt like he had been stabbed or punched over and over again. Which, of course, was true.

"10 am, you've been out all night." Zack told him, taking his hand and squeezing it tightly, "You have some broken ribs and a concession."

"The doctors want to keep you for another night for observation." his Nan told him. Blaine looked at her and felt tears in his eyes. She was really sick. She shouldn't be here but resting. If she caught an infection from being outside it would be all his fault.

"You should go home Nan." He told her, "And take Amber, I'll be fine here."

His Nan agreed by nodding, knowing how weak her body was and how much more helpful she would be alive. Amber hugged Blaine, silent tears drafting down her cheeks. He wiped them away, smiling at her gently.

"You should go as well." Blaine told Zack after they had left. Zack was sitting close to the bed, holding Blaine's hand. He was shaking slightly and his lips were pressed together tightly as if he was trying not to cry. Blaine stroked his hand with his thumb, trying to offer some kind of comfort.

"My parents have pulled me out of school," Zack told him.

"That's good." Blaine said, "I wish I could do the same but I don't think my Dad gives a fuck."

Zack nodded as tear escaping as he squeezed Blaine's hand tighter.

"Where are you going to go now then?" Blaine asked. Zack was silent for a moment, making Blaine worry.

"My Dad got offered this job in England." He finally said, "He wasn't going to accept it because he didn't want my education to be disrupted but this changed his mind."

Blaine was shocked into silence. The only person who had ever understood him was disappearing. He will be alone again.

"England?" He mumbled. Across the ocean. Thousands of miles away.

Zack nodded.

"They have gay marriage there." Blaine said, absentmindedly. Zack laughed quietly and smiled.

"And Jude Law." He said.

"And Harry Potter." Blaine smiled. Zack sighed and looked sad again.

"I wish you could come with me."

Blaine nodded.

"If it wasn't for Amber I would sneak into your luggage." He told Zack. They were silent for a moment. Blaine looked at the ceiling but he could feel Zack looking at him.

"You'll have to wear a uniform." Blaine said suddenly, laughing. He wanted to break the tension that was hovering over them, "You'll have to send a photo because you'll look so funny."

Zack smiled and nodded.

"I'm sorry I'm leaving." He said, "I thought we could have been something really special."

Blaine bit his lip, trying to smile. He felt like his heart was breaking. They could have been something special. But now they would never know how this story would play out. Blaine had liked Zack for ages, since before he came out. He had finally worked up the courage to ask him out and then them stupid football jerks had ruined it. Had ruined them.

"I don't leave for another month." Zack said quietly, "We could see each other until then."

Blaine shook his head, shutting his eyes briefly.

"You can't miss what you didn't have." Blaine told him, "I don't know about you but having you for the next month and then losing you will just break my heart."

Zack looked at him, his eyes bloodshot and tired. They were sad and misting over slightly. He nodded, kissing Blaine's hand.

"You're right." He mumbled on his skin, "It will make everything so much harder."

"We'll stay friends." Blaine smiled, needing to make the whole situation lighter. To make it less heart breaking. Zack nodded and wiped his face of tears. They shared a smile that spoke a million words.

So Zack left. There was no goodbye kiss. There was just a hug and a promise of them staying in touch. Blaine wondered, as he lied in the hospital bed, if he had just lost his soul mate.

**A couple of weeks later**

Blaine placed a cup of tea in front of his Nan, wincing as he lent down. His ribs were nearly healed, but it still hurt if he bent the wrong way. He sat down on the arm chair in his Nan's living room and stared at the blank TV. It was during the day anyway so nothing was going to be on part from boring day time television. He felt his Nan's eyes on him and sighed as he felt a lecture coming on.

"Aren't you supposed to be in school?" She asked.

"I'm not going back there." He replied simple.

"You're going to get yourself expelled you know." His Nan said, sipping her tea. Her hands were shaking and some of the tea spilt over the edge of the cup. She had a blanket over her as she laid down on the sofa.

"Good, that way I don't have to go back," Blaine sighed, rubbing his temple, "There is no way I am going back to that school, I'm fed up of people treating me like crap, like I don't deserve to be alive." He hadn't been at school since the attack and wasn't planning on returning. He didn't even want to go back to clean out his locker.

"Why don't you transfer then?" His Nan suggested. He looked at her, running a hand through his unruly hair. He really needed to get it cut. It was hanging over his eyes at the moment.

"Everywhere is going to be the same, Nan, there will always be bullies."

"Well, you're not just dropping out of school." His Nan told him seriously, "You're too clever for that."

"What do you want me to do then?" Blaine asked, knowing she already had something in mind. She beckoned for him to come to her so he obeyed, dragging his actions out.

"Open the draw on the coffee table," his Nan ordered. Blaine did and was surprised at what he found. It was a booklet for the Dalton Academy.

"The prep school?" Blaine asked, sitting on the edge of the sofa.

"It has a zero-tolerance bully policy." His Nan told him, "You bully there and you are kicked out straight away."

Blaine looked at her, eyebrows raised.

"You want me to go to Dalton?" He asked. She nodded.

"There is no way I can afford the tuition; it's thousands of dollars per term." Blaine told her, thinking she had gone crazy.

"I can pay it." She said.

Right, she had defiantly gone crazy.

"I've been selling all my things." She continued, "It's amazing how much old things will go for in auctions, Jon's been helping me with all the internet things."

Blaine looked at her, his mouth open in shock.

"I've got two safety deposit boxes at the bank that are under yours and Amber's name." His Nan informed him, "I wanted you to use it for collage or for funding a home when you're older, but I think you need this more than any of them things."

"I… I can't accept this, Nan." Blaine said, touched by her generosity. It also reminded him why she was doing all this. She didn't have long left. Everyone knew it. It would be miracle if she made it through the summer holidays.

"Yes you can, and you will." She told him firmly, her eyes serious.

"But they expect straight A students, I couldn't make it through their curriculum." Blaine said. He was being serious as well. He had never got an A on anything.

"Yes you can, you just need to try a bit harder." His Nan scolded, "You are bright Blaine, but I know you, you've seen the point in school and education."

Blaine shrugged. He didn't believe he could do it. He wasn't clever.

"You want to get out of this town right?" his Nan asked. Blaine nodded. He wanted that more then anything.

"And you want Amber to get out of this town with you?"

"Yes." It was like she was reading his mind.

"The only way that is going to happen is if you get yourself together and work hard so you can get to collage."

Blaine took the words in, looking at the booklet. There were lots of pictures of boys in uniforms, working hard with books all around them. The interior of the building looked so posh and elegant. It looked like something taken from a 1700s history documentary. He would look so out of place amongst these rich, smart boys. But his Nan was right. He needed to get out of this town and he needed to take Amber with him. They needed to get away from their father. And the only way to do that was through this school.

"Ok." He said quietly, "I'll go."

"Before you say that you need to promise me that my money will not be wasted, Blaine." His Nan said seriously, "You will need to work hard and respect the teachers, and not misbehave."

Blaine looked at her and smiled. He leant over and hugged her.

"I promise Nan." He said, "Thank you so much for this opportunity, for everything."

His Nan smiled at him and he could feel the warmth radiating from it. His Nan will never believe how much she gave him that day. The opportunities, the hope, the friends. The love.

All these events led to where Blaine was now. Alone in his car, waiting for the sun to come up so he could go to lessons. He thought about all of them. All the fights that he heard his parents have. All the tears he saw Amber cry. All the hate he was given from his so called friend and the other students. The last conversation he had with his Nan.

Every night they replayed in his head. If it wasn't a dream about his father attacking him, Amber or Kurt, or it was some horrible memory he was trying to bury. He really didn't know how much more he could take. He felt like his head was going to explode from all the pressure and dark thoughts he was having. He was starting to lose himself and he really needed someone to bring him back.

**Ok. This took forever to write. Sorry it took so long but I've been so busy the last couple of weeks. I hope you like this chapter. It must seem a bit random but I enjoyed writing this. I know some things may seem a bit verge or confusing but things are explained further on in the story, I promise. I just wanted to say something about the Police officers. When I was writing this I was imagine British Police who, in my opinion, have a scarier uniform compared to USA Police. But then again, to two children alone in the dark, Police officers are going to be scary no matter what. And the Jude Law thing; I've been told Americans find him very hot so...yeah :) Worth moving to England for. Please review. I love reviews, they are my life source. **


	5. Chapter 5

There was ten days until the exam and Dalton Academy was in a state of pure panic. It was the only part of the year where the seniors were the least stressed out and studied the least, as they did not need to take this exam. The school did the exam earlier in the year so that the whole school wasn't in a state of panic all at once, because come May and June the seniors were under a lot of pressure about final exams, graduating and scholarships to university.

Blaine had never been good with exams. He hated the atmosphere of the room and the deafening silence that surrounded him, and the endless questions. He hated the build up to the exam and didn't cope with it very well. He worked himself hard to take everything in, snapped at everyone, stopped talking and didn't eat. All he wanted to do was burying himself in books and notes from his lessons. Anything anyone said had little effect on this behaviour. However, this year one thing had kept him slightly more sane than normal.

Kurt.

Kurt had helped him so much this year. His mere presence had calmed him when he was otherwise stressed out of his mind. Kurt would be there to give him a smile that reminded him to breathe again, and Kurt would always know when he needed a coffee or a hug, or even a quick kiss.

And the kisses! They left Blaine feeling like he was on cloud nine. They made him forget everything. That single touch made his head soar and his mind feel light and free. Blaine had no idea how he would cope without Kurt and how he had managed to do it before now.

Kurt would never know how much Blaine really needed him. How much more Blaine would be suffering without him.

Blaine went through the days in a sort of haze. The late nights and bad dreams left him tired and out of focus. He revised most of the time, hidden in the library. Kurt gave up on him coming to the cafeteria for lunch, instead eating lunch with other Warblers Nick and Jeff. He did bring Blaine a sandwich each day though. Egg mayonnaise which was Blaine's favourite. Kurt would watch Blaine eat it. Blaine knew he was trying to be helpful and kind, but the food made him feel ill. He always had to go to the toilet afterwards which made him feel even sicker.

It's not like he wanted to throw up. Eating just made him feel so sick and like his stomach was turning. He had no choice. However, he felt the lack of food getting to him. He was feeling light headed and dizzy all of the time. On Monday, he and Kurt was walking down the corridor towards Maths when Blaine finally realised he needed to change his eating habits.

Kurt was chatting away about how bow ties should come back into fashion when Blaine just stopped walking. Everything went quiet around him. It was so silent it was deafening. He saw Kurt looking at him with a confused and concerned look on his face, but Blaine saw three Kurts, waving in and out of his vision. Kurt said something just as everything went black.

Blaine woke up on the corridor floor with Kurt and a senior Warbler, Ty, kneeling next to him. Other students were lingering nearby, looking at the commutation.

"What happened?" Blaine asked, confused. His head seemed to be all over the place and he had a headache. His chest was hurting as his ribs complained about the fall. He clutched his shirt with his hand as he winced. Kurt looked worried and was holding his other hand tightly.

"You fainted." Ty told him.

"Come on, move on." A prefect told the other students. They started moving along, giving small smiles of comfort to their lead Warbler. Blaine didn't notice though as his head was still spinning.

"Have you eaten today?" Ty asked, helping Blaine sit up. Kurt moved so Blaine could lean against him.

"No." Blaine replied, blinking and trying to get his surroundings into focus.

"It's ok, we've had students dropping like flies the last two weeks." Ty informed them, getting out a protein bar from his bag and handing it to him, "We've been told to carry these around just in case."

During this time period a few seniors are given extra responsibility to look out for the lower years. They made sure that they weren't working themselves to death and looked after students who fainted in the hallways or students that are having panic attacks. It was just to help the teachers and the school nurse as there was a lot of students.

Ty looked at Blaine, who made no effect to eat the protein bar.

"I'm not leaving until you eat it." Ty told him. Kurt took it out of Blaine's shaking hands and opened it for him. Blaine took a bite out of it, tasting cardboard. Ty smiled at him, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Don't forget to eat, you don't want to hit your head and lose all your knowledge." Ty said, "Isn't that what you did last year?"

Blaine nodded, ignoring Kurt's questioning look. Blaine was helped to stand up and his legs felt like jelly.

"Do you want me to take you home?" Kurt asked, wrapping an arm round his waist to steady him. Blaine shook his head, taking another bite of the bar.

"Let's just go to maths." He mumbled. Kurt looked like he was going to argue but decided against it. He gave Ty a grateful smile before helping Blaine to their lesson. Blaine was leaning heavily on him, still eating the protein bar slowly.

By the time they got to the classroom Blaine's vision was normal and he didn't feel as dizzy.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Kurt asked as they sat down at the back of the classroom. Blaine sat down next to him, feeling more focused now. He had finished the bar and he nodded, giving Kurt a reassuring smile. But inside Blaine was cursing himself. He felt so stupid. What Ty had said really got to him. He didn't want to end up in hospital again.

The fall had really hurt his chest. His ribs seemed to be pulsing in pain. Blaine shut his eyes, wishing the pain away and counted to ten to even his breathing which had started to quicken as panic rose in him.

Then suddenly everything seemed to stop as a hand was gently placed on his thigh. Blaine looked up to meet the eyes of Kurt's; the calming blue orbs. Kurt smiled at him and everything washed away. Blaine managed to smile back, thankful for the wonderful human being in front of him. It was amazing how Kurt could make him feel so calm and safe with just one touch. Blaine managed to forget his problems for a little while and got some work done.

After maths there was one lesson left before school ended. Blaine suffered through History without Kurt before they meet up for Warblers practice in the Choir room. Blaine's chest had been hurting all day so he was quite glad when they managed to get a sofa as he was quite tired.

The Warblers were completely comfortable with Blaine and Kurt's relationship so they were able to hold hands and sit way too close to each other without fear of being judge or glared at. Normally they just sat next to each other, plaything with each other's fingers, but today Blaine decided to rest his head on Kurt's shoulder and snuggled closer to him. Kurt looked surprised but smiled as Blaine hugged his arm.

Kurt talked away to Jeff and Nick as the rest of the Warblers arrived and settled down. David, Was and Thad took their place at the table at the head of the room. The room instantly went quiet and everyone looked at their head Warblers.

"We'll make this quick as we know how hard you are all working at the moment." David started.

"And we don't want to add anymore stress so there won't be any more Warblers meetings until after the exam." Thad told them. The reaction throughout the room differed a bit. A few people looked relieved while a few others looked disappointed. Kurt was among the disappointed ones as singing and dancing made him relax and Warblers practice kept his head screwed on right.

However, some of the other Warblers were clearly feeling the pressure, like Blaine who had fallen asleep against Kurt nearly as soon as he had lent against him. Others around the room had their notes out now and a few had skipped practice altogether, which was very risky as it could lead to being kicked out of the choir. Therefore Kurt understood and respected the seniors' decision. It was only two weeks without practice. He could just sing and dance around in his room until then.

"On a lighter note," Wes smiled at his fellow Warblers, "We have booked this room for the entire weekend."

Excitement suddenly filled the room and the Warblers started whispering to each other. Kurt looked around confused and Nick lent forward towards him and said,

"It's the weekend before the exam; the whole school stays here and revises,"

"And in the evenings we watch films and play video games," Jeff told him.

"And the teachers allow this?" Kurt asked, whispering so not to wake Blaine.

"They encourage it." Nick explained, "It happens every year; they say it's because they not want the students getting too overstressed."

"Did Blaine not tell you?" Jeff asked. Kurt shook his head.

"Well, you're invited." Wes told him, coming over to the group as Warblers filed out of the room as the brief meeting finished. Blaine was still asleep, his head buried in Kurt's shoulder so half his face was hidden.

"You and Blaine can sleep in our room." David said, sitting next to Blaine. Despite David being careful the movement caused Blaine to wake and look around with sleepy and confused eyes.

"Where is everyone?" He asked.

"They went, the meeting ended." Wes told him. Blaine sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"When did it start?" He asked. The boys around him laughed and Kurt held his hand. They looked at each other and they shared a smile.

"You're so cute when you're sleeping." Kurt whispered so only Blaine could hear. He blushed and looked away, a feeling of warmth filling him. The short nap had been so peaceful that he hadn't notice taking it, but he did find it slightly embarrassing that his fellow Warblers had seen him like that.

"We were just discussing this weekend." Jeff told Blaine.

"I forgot about that." He yawned. That gave him two nights of sleeping inside to look forward to. It made him feel happy. And he would be able to spend the nights next to Kurt. This made him even happier.

"Come on, I'll buy you a coffee." Kurt offered, standing up and offering him his hand. Blaine gladly slipped his hand into Kurt's and stood up, wincing as he moved his chest. Kurt kept hold of his hand as they went to the onsite coffee shop after saying goodbye to their friends.

They revised maths while sipping their coffee. Many students had the same idea and the small hall was filled with caffeine addicts and their text books. Kurt rubbed his foot against Blaine's leg as they studied, sending butterflies through his body. He wished they were alone. He wished they didn't have to study so hard. He wished there was nothing separating them.

Kurt finally had to go home, leaving Blaine feeling alone again. Part of him was screaming at him to tell Kurt about his situation already, but Blaine just couldn't bring himself to do it. He didn't want to risk what they had. He didn't want Kurt to know how pathetic and weak he was yet. He needed Kurt too much. He needed his touch and kisses and his smiles. They seemed to be the only things giving him any kind of strength at the moment. The only thing giving him reason to live.

Blaine skipped dinner and went to his make shift bed. He had tucked the buckles into the seat to make it more comfortable and parked in a slightly hidden bit of the parking lot so people didn't see his duvet in the back seat. There was even more paper and notes littering his car as he revised in there. He listened to his iPod all night so he had to charge it at lunch time in order to get any battery life. He couldn't spend a night without his music, especially the many recordings of Kurt he had. The car was scary at night, with shadows dancing around and the old mansion building looming over the car. The students had shared many ghost stories about the school and they all seemed to come flooding back to Blaine just as he was drafting off, causing him to be wide awake again.

The lack of sleep caused him to draft off in lessons and miss out on important exam information. He had to work overtime after school to copy everyone else's notes to catch up. Having a cast on his right arm also made writing slower and his handwriting was always a complete mess. Some of the words were a mystery to even Blaine. This worried him as the exam was a written examination and if he couldn't read his own writing, how will the marking tutors?

The next day was a week since he was kicked out of his house and his injuries still hurt. They made him drowsy and irritable. He just wanted to crawl up in a comfortable bed and sleep the days away. But all he had was his car and the occasional desk; both of which were the farthest from comfortable.

He fall asleep in the library after school and woke with a terrible pain in his chest. Where he had been leaning on the desk his ribs had a lot of pressure on them. As Blaine sat up he cried out in pain, his eyes watering. Two freshers who were sitting on the table next to him looked up in concern. Blaine gave them a reassuring smile, not wanting rumours to spread about the lead Warbler. People looked up to him, especially the freshers. He didn't want to let them down by being so weak.

The two boys gave a polite smile back and turned back to their work. Blaine sighed and rubbed his eyes of sleep. His stomach decided to growl then, surprising him. He hadn't been hungry for about a week. Maybe it was his body telling him he finally needed to eat.

It was only half five so Blaine decided to pack up his books and head to his car. He didn't want to go to a shop near his house just in case he ran into his father or a neighbour with too many questions, so he drove to the Lima Walmart as the area was familiar to him now.

He wandered around the large super store, not sure what to buy. He didn't really know what he fancied. He ended up grabbing a pack of ready-made weenie dogs and a fruit box. He made his way to a check out but was stopped by someone calling his name. He turned around and came face to face with Carole who had a basket full of shopping.

"Hi Sweetie." She smiled. Blaine smiled back politely.

"Hello Mrs Hummel."

"You ok?" She asked with a warm motherly smile on her face. He hadn't seen someone look at him like that in a long time and he felt a knot in his chest as he looked at her.

"Yeah, thanks." He replied, "We...we ran out of food at home so I just came to grab some dinner."

"In Lima?" Carole asked, confused.

"Oh...I..." Blaine said, trying to think of an excuse, "I was just driving and I lost track of where I was going."

"Either way, you can't eat a weenie dog for dinner." Carole scolded gently, "Come to ours for dinner."

Blaine was token by surprised and he took a second longer to answer then necessary.

"I...its fine, I..."

"Nope, no arguing." Carole told him, pushing him towards a check out, "You boys are working so hard lately, you deserve a break and a decent meal."

Blaine couldn't help but smile as he helped Carole with her shopping.

"Kurt would love to see you." She said, piling her shopping onto the conveyor belt. Blaine just smiled. It was a weird feeling as he allowed himself to be lead around by the mum and they made small talk. Carole asked about school and other such things. It may seem strange but it made Blaine feel so happy that someone cared about his life and how he was doing. It also made him feel slightly sad. His parents were supposed to care about this stuff. Instead his mother abandoned him and he doesn't actually remember ever having a meaningful conversation with his father.

They arrived at the Hummel-Hudson household with Blaine following behind in his car and he helped take the shopping into the house.

"Kurt should be in his room." Carole told him before turning around to make dinner.

"Thank you." Blaine said quietly and gratefully before making his way upstairs.

"Knock knock." Blaine said, peering into Kurt's ajar door. Kurt looked up and the smile he gave Blaine took his breath away. Kurt had been sitting at his desk studying, one of his legs drawn up so his chin was resting on it. He turned around in surprised and his eyes lit up.

"Blaine!" He smiled, getting up and leaping over to him. He wrapped his arms around Blaine and hugged him tightly.

"What are you doing here?" Kurt asked.

"I met Carole in Walmart and she invited me to dinner." Blaine told him, kissing him briefly. Kurt's smile got bigger as their lips touched.

"That's great." He said, "I actually needed to talk to you about something."

"What about?" Blaine asked, suddenly feeling worried.

"We'll talk after dinner." Kurt answered, making him feel even more worried. He nodded though, sitting on the edge of the bed and looking up at Kurt. He had changed out of his school uniform and was wearing blue skinny jeans and a loose grey top that hanged off his left shoulder. It made Blaine blush as he looked at the bare skin. The soft porcelain skin looked so nice. All he wanted to do was kiss it.

"I'm just finishing up an essay." Kurt told Blaine, going back to his desk, "I'll be as quick as I can."

"That's ok, I'll do some studying." Blaine replied, getting a book out of his bag. He took off his blazer and tie, untucked his shirt and rolled up his sleeves, making himself feel more comfortable. He then lent backwards, lying down on the bed and holding his book above his head to read. He saw Kurt grin out of the corner of his eye and smiled himself.

_Damn, this bed is comfortable. _

Even though he had to study, Blaine couldn't help but watch Kurt a little bit. Blaine could see the back of his neck and it looked so prefect. He wondered what noise Kurt would make if he kissed it.

Blaine didn't realise that he had actually stopped studying and had curled onto his side, dreamily watching Kurt write. It was like he was in a waking dream and he was slowly dozing off.

"All done, Sweetie." Kurt suddenly said. He was leaning over Blaine, kissing his cheek. Blaine hadn't realised that his eyes had closed so was startled. He looked up at Kurt, yawning. Kurt stroked his hair out of his face and lent down and kissed him. Their lips lingered together, making Blaine's mouth tingle. They smiled at each other, a comfortable silence surrounding them.

"Dinner's ready." Carole's voice rung up the stairs and into the room. Kurt took hold of Blaine's hand and pulled him up. They kissed again before going downstairs.

Blaine had been so caught up with Kurt's lips and hand in his that he forgot about dinner until he was sitting at the table and Carole placed a bowl of pasta in front of him. In any normal situation the meal would look delicious. It had cheese melted all over it and had a tomato and herb sauce giving it a vibrant colour. The smell radiating from the bowl was mouth watering but Blaine suddenly felt sick. He swallowed hard, noticing Kurt looking at him. He probably knew that Blaine hadn't eaten today. He smiled at Kurt before eating a forkful. The familiar taste of ash filled his mouth but he tried to ignore it. He ate it slowly but did manage to it eat it all.

He helped clear the table before turning to Kurt and telling him that he was going to the toilet. To his surprise Kurt shook his head.

"I need to talk to you first." He said. Blaine felt like his skin was crawling and needed to get all the food he just ate out of him.

"Can't it wait?" He asked. Kurt shook his head before grabbing his arm and pulling him up to his bedroom. Kurt sat Blaine down on the bed and sat next to him. Blaine felt nervous.

"What… what's this about?" He asked. Was Kurt breaking up with him?

"I know something's wrong Blaine." Kurt told him.

Blaine tensed. Kurt knew. Kurt knew he was homeless. Of course he was going to break up with him now. Who wanted to go out with a hobo?

"I know about… about your eating habits." Kurt said, taking Blaine's hands. Blaine was suddenly confused. His eating habits?

"I was talking to Wes and David and they said you were the same last year, with the fainting and everything." Kurt said nervously, "and I noticed you going to the toilet after you eat; it doesn't take a genius to work out what you're doing."

Blaine looked down at his lap, relieved but embarrassed.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled. He felt a hand on his cheek and he looked up. Kurt's eyes were sea green; slightly moist with sadness.

"You know you're prefect right? You don't need to stave yourself to change."

"I know." Blaine tried to reassure him, "I don't do it because I think I'm fat or anything."

"Then why do you do it?" Kurt asked, his hand still on Blaine's cheek. He stroked it gently.

"It… it's like a coping mechanism." Blaine said, struggling to find the words to explain himself, "When I'm stressed out I lose my appetite completely and when I do eat I just feel sick." He felt Kurt watching him as he looked away.

"It's like I'm sick from all the stress." He looked back at Kurt, "But when I fainted yesterday I realised I needed to start eating again or all my studying might go to waste and I might fail again." He continued to explain, "I was actually in Walmart getting something for dinner when I meet your Stepmother."

Kurt nodded, moving closer to hug Blaine.

"It's a good thing you realised you needed to eat again but you can't go throwing it up again because there would be no point in eating in the first place." Kurt told him. Blaine nodded against Kurt's neck. He felt somewhat glad that Kurt had found out about his eating because it meant that Kurt knew something about him. There was one less secret.

"I'm here." Kurt said softly, whispering against Blaine's hair, "I'll look after you."

Blaine had to stop himself from crying as he held on to his boyfriend. He really was lucky, he thought.

The next day after school, Blaine was dragged to the Lima Bean by Kurt. They were meeting up with Tina, Santana and Mercedes. The conversation was pleasant and Blaine happily listened, joining in when he was required to. He was thinking about his studies though, worrying about not doing any.

He wasn't the only one distracted though. He realised that Santana wasn't listening to anything anyone was saying, just staring off into space.

The subject of Kurt going back to McKinley came up and Blaine's heart twisted into a knot. He hated when this came up which was surprisingly a lot. Kurt really did want to go back to his old school. He wouldn't though as long as Karofsky was still there.

"I've got to gay." Santana suddenly said, standing up. She looked slightly surprised and said,

"I've got to go, I've got to go!" She ran off and realisation came over Blaine. He smiled at his new discovery, sipping his coffee and breaking a bit off the cookie Kurt had brought them. He bit into it, ignoring the sickly feeling. He wondered if Kurt had figured it out. Kurt always praised himself on his gay-der so Blaine guessed he probably had. Blaine wasn't going to ask though; he didn't want to out anyone.

Blaine turned back to the conversation where the subject had changed to Rachel's upcoming nose job.

Glad they had stopped talking about Kurt leaving Dalton; Blaine turned to the people around him and joined in. He placed a hand on Kurt's leg, hoping that they could stay together forever. He didn't want Kurt to leave him. He wasn't ready for it yet. He needed Kurt too much.

The weekend came quickly. Too quickly for many students' liking, including Blaine's. It was less then a week until the exam and as the pressure became worse, so did the nightmares. He lied in his car, his body aching from being in cramped conditions again and again. He either stared at pages of books, kidding himself he was studying even though his eyes weren't moving, or he covered himself with his duvet and listened to his iPod, silently mouthing the words. He did these things until sleep claimed him and he was dragged into another nightmare.

There was only one thing that he looked forward to each day, and he was rushing over to him right now with a huge smile on his face and a holdall in his hands.

"Hey Blaine." Kurt said cheerfully, sitting next to him in the library which had became their new meeting place over the last couple of weeks. Blaine returned the smile, putting his pen down and leaning his chin in his hands to look at the excitable Kurt.

"This weekend is going to be great." He said, nearly jumping up and down in his seat, "I heard Dalton sleepovers are so much fun; Jeff told me that last time the Warblers hired a professional karaoke kit and stayed up so late that the grounds keeper locked you in the choir room as punishment."

Blaine laughed, reliving the memory. They had ended up sleeping in the choir room, unaware the grounds keeper had actually unlocked the room half an hour later.

"I'm going to meet up with David so I can put my stuff in his room." Kurt told Blaine, "Do you want me to take your stuff?"

Blaine shook his head.

"No thanks, it's in my car, I'll just get it later."

Kurt smiled at Blaine, leaning over the table to kiss him goodbye.

"I'll see you in maths." Kurt said before bouncing off to meet David. Blaine smiled as he watched him go. He loved how excited Kurt got over simple things. He was so cute.

The day went quickly for Blaine but Kurt kept moaning over how much it was dragging. He was really looking forward to spending the night at Dalton, claiming it would be like staying at Hogwarts for the night. He was even conspiring to sneak around and look for secret passage ways around the old Mansion. He had even got Jeff onboard and they were both excited about it. A few seniors had laughed at them, claiming that they have already looked everywhere and not found any.

"You do know that the purpose of this weekend is to study, right?" Blaine asked as Kurt told him his plans.

"Yeah." Kurt smiled his childlike smile, "But it is also to relax and find things to calm ourselves before the exam."

"Well, I'm spending it studying." Blaine informed him, earning a pout from Kurt. Normally the pout along with the big blue puppy eyes would break Blaine, but he was still panicking about the exam.

"We will be able to do that another weekend." Blaine told him, looking down at his maths text book. Kurt was silent for a moment, fiddling with his pen.

"What's up?" Blaine asked, sensing a change in Kurt's mood. He looked up at Kurt, waiting for him to talk.

"My Dad got a call from McKinley." He finally said. Blaine frowned slightly, not liking where this was going.

"Yeah?" He encouraged Kurt to continue. He twirled his pen around his hand, a nervous habit he had. Blaine was amazed how Kurt managed to do it without dropping it. Blaine tried to do it a couple of times but the pen always ended up on the other side of the room.

"The Principle wants to have a meeting with me and Dad." Kurt said, "Apparently Karofsky is trying to turn himself around and wants to apologise personally to me." He looked like he didn't know how to feel and looked at Blaine nervously.

"You don't believe he is actually sorry for what he did though, do you?" Blaine asked.

"I don't know." Kurt admitted, "I want to go and hear him out though."

"Why? After what he did to you, he doesn't deserve your forgiveness." Blaine said, sounding slightly angry. This took Kurt aback slightly.

"I didn't say that I was going to forgive him." Kurt told him, "But there isn't any point staying angry, it just leads to more hurt."

Blaine sighed and calmed himself. He put on a supportive smile.

"When is the meeting?" He asked.

"Monday." Kurt answered, taking Blaine's hand. Blaine's heart sunk. He didn't bring up the fact that this was probably it. Kurt was leaving Dalton. If there was a way out Kurt would find it and take it.

"Well, I hope it goes well but keep in mind that people don't just instantly change, Karofsky may have other intentions."

Kurt nodded.

"I know."

They were silent for a few minutes. Kurt was still holding Blaine's hand and Blaine could tell he was nervous.

"Come on, let's just forget about this." Kurt smiled, "Let's just enjoy this weekend."

"You're right." Blaine nodded, returning the smile. However, he was still worried. He tried to shake it off, and once again buried himself in books.

After school every single corner of the building was filled with students. Classrooms, the library, the cafeteria and even the choir room. All of them had books around them. Books everywhere. Endless paper everywhere.

Blaine and Kurt were tucked away in a senior home room. They were normally off boards to the lower years but Wes and David have snuck them in there with a note for any teacher that may question it.

Blaine tried to concentrate on his work but he was too scared and nervous thinking about Kurt. The words juggled around the page and he hat to reread sentences over and over again.

"It's time." Came a voice at exactly 9pm. David and Wes had came to save them from studying.

"Scene is set up, pizza is on the way and the Warblers are gathering." David announced. Kurt looked up and smiled, while Blaine sighed, rubbing his temple. He felt slightly sick.

"I need some air." He mumbled as he and Kurt put their work in their bags.

"You can go wait for the pizzas then." Wes told them, "And met us in the choir room."

Blaine nodded, standing up. Kurt took his hand unexpectedly. It took Blaine by surprise but he smiled as the touch made his head stop hurting and a wave of relief and calm wash over him.

"I'll come with you." Kurt said cheerfully. They said goodbye to the seniors and made their way out of the building and to the front of the school where the pizza deliveries come in.

As soon as they were outside, Kurt span round so he was facing Blaine and kissed him. The sudden kiss nearly knocked Blaine off his feet and he wrapped his arms round Kurt to support himself. Kurt then pushed him up against the wall of the building, still kissing him.

"You're tasty." He whispered on Blaine's lips. Blaine smiled, enjoying the change in mood. It felt good to be pressed up against the wall with Kurt leaning his whole body against his. They kissed deeply until they heard an engine. They turned around to see a scooter pulling up with pizza boxes on the back.

"Sam!" Kurt smiled as the driver took his helmet off. Blonde hair flew free of the hold and Sam Evans was revealed. He looked slightly surprised to see Kurt and also slightly embarrassed.

"So you're the guys that ordered about a dozen pizzas." He said. Kurt laughed, coming up to him and taking about half the pizzas.

"Yeah, we have about twenty hungry boys who have spent the whole week studying." Kurt told him. Blaine got the other half of the pizzas.

"What you doing working on a Friday anyway?" Kurt asked Sam.

"Just earning some money." Sam replied, looking down and rubbing his foot against his leg.

"You ok Sam?" Blaine asked, noticing how uncomfortable and… lonely he looked. Sam looked up and nodded, putting on a smile. It looked faked though. Blaine should know; he had seen it on himself many times before.

"Yeah… fine." Sam replied, taking the money from Kurt.

"You sure, you look flustered." Blaine asked. Kurt seemed to notice it as well and looked at him in concern.

"It's nothing." Sam said, sighing. Both boys looked at him and the blonde boy lowered his head with the pressure.

"Me and my family are having a few money issues so I've had to get a job." Sam confessed. Kurt placed a comforting hand on his arm.

"There's something else you're not telling us." Kurt said. Blaine was about to indicate to Kurt to not ask anymore questions as he could see how uncomfortable Sam looked, when San said this,

"My Dad lost his job and the bank took our house."

"Oh my God! Really?" Kurt gasped.

"Please don't tell anyone." Sam sighed, rubbing a hand through his hair.

"Of course not!" Blaine said. Sam bit his lip and gripped his helmet tightly.

"I have to go now." He said.

"Sam, if you need anything, just call." Kurt told him.

"Thanks Kurt." Sam smiled, "You really are a good friend." He went to get on his bike when Blaine said,

"Can I just ask you something?"

Both Sam and Kurt looked confused, especially when Blaine turned to Kurt and said,

"I'll meet you in the choir room."

"Ok." He said hesitantly. He kissed Blaine before leaving.

"What is it?" Sam asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had built around them.

"Erm… well… " Blaine started, nervously, "I was just wondering if there were any jobs going at your pizza delivery place."

Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Blaine, I'm getting the feeling that you want to tell me something else, so just cut to the chase." Sam said. It wasn't a harsh request; he just didn't want the conversation to drag on longer then necessary as he needed to get back to work. Blaine bit his lip, thinking about turning around and walking away. But it was on the edge of his tongue. All he had to do was say it.

"I'm homeless as well." He said and then felt like he was going to throw up. He felt so pathetic and he had said it to the completely wrong person.

"Oh." Was the only thing Sam managed to say.

"Do you have any siblings?" Blaine asked, filling in the silence. Sam nodded.

"Yeah, a little sister and a little brother." He answered, "You?"

"Yeah, but she is at home, it was just me that my Dad wanted out." Blaine told him. Sam ran a hand through his hair again, unsure of what to say.

"Have you told Kurt?" He asked. Blaine bit his lip, knowing he should turn around and leave the conversation.

"Thanks for the pizza." He said, starting to walk off.

"I'll ask my boss about the job." Sam called after him. Blaine turned back around and looked at him.

"Don't worry." He said, "You need it more then me, you have to look after your little sister and brother"

Sam smiled gratefully, giving him a slight nod.

"And please don't tell anyone." Blaine asked. Sam nodded before putting his helmet back on and saddling his bike. Blaine turned back around before he drove off, stepping back into the school.

"You ok?" Kurt asked as Blaine came into the choir room and put the pizzas on the table in the centre of the room. He sat down next to Kurt and smiled at him. Kurt returned the smiled, looking concerned but he decided not to ask about Blaine and Sam's conversation. Kurt instead moved closer to Blaine, placing a hand on his leg. Blaine smiled at Kurt warmly as he lent his head on Blaine's shoulder and feed him a slice of pepperoni pizza. Blaine laughed, taking the slice off him before sauce and cheese fall onto his shirt. He wrapped an arm around Kurt's shoulders, bring him closer.

The hall was full of Warblers who were spread about the room in a very un-Dalton manner. The normally neat students were spread out across the sofas and armchairs and were sitting on all the tables. Some of the boys had changed into their normal clothes and most of the others had discarded their blazers and untucked their shirts. Loose ties were lying around the whole room.

They were happily debating what movie to watch. Blaine and Kurt weren't joining in with the debate though. Though were too busy feeding each other pizza and laughing. Blaine missed Kurt's mouth and sauce got on his nose. Kurt giggled as Blaine lent down and licked it off.

"Come on, hurry up and put the film on before these two make me puke." Nick joked next to Kurt. He gave Nick a playful shove and smiled, not caring about the way everyone was teasing them. He was happy about it because it made him feel like any other normal couple.

The choir decided on 'Shutter Island'. It wasn't Kurt's type of film but he enjoyed watching Leonardo DiCaprio. He cuddled up to Blaine, thinking of Sam and wondering why Blaine wanted to talk to him on his own. Kurt was sure Blaine was being kind and offering Sam support on his current situation. But a small jealous part of him thought that there may have been something less innocent about it. Blaine had only met Sam once or twice.

Blaine kissed Kurt's hair, resting his chin on his head and bringing him even closer. Kurt smiled, stroking Blaine's arm slowly with his fingertips, all doubts washing away from his mind.

The rest of the evening involved watching another movie, 'Toy Story 3', which had Kurt crying softly, and eating Doritos and pop corn.

It was surprisingly calm and quiet as most of the boys were tired. However some of the seniors tried to lighten the mood by drawing on the face of a sleeping sophomore. Part from that the evening was calm and relaxed.

About midnight everyone started to go up to the dormitories. At lunch Blaine had got his duvet and some of his clothes out of his car and had put them in Wes and David's room so they were already there for him. He set up his and Kurt's beds on the floor while the other boy did his nightly cleansing routine. Kurt had brought a sleeping bag and a couple of blankets so using them and his thick duvet Blaine made a bed which meant they could cuddle close together.

And that is what they did after Kurt came back from the bathroom in long pyjamas and smelling of moisturiser. He blushed slightly when he lied down next to Blaine. They were both nervous and excited about sleeping so close to each other.

"No hecky pecky." David called out from his bed as Wes turned off the light. Kurt laughed nervously. Blaine said nothing but took Kurt by surprise by wrapping his arms round Kurt and pulling him close to him. He buried his face into Kurt's back and breathed in his scent.

God it was beautiful. He was beautiful.

Kurt held Blaine's hands close to his chest and snuggled backwards slightly so he was closer to Blaine. He then shut his eyes, cherishing the arms that were gripping him so tightly.

Blaine felt Kurt draft off. His body heat was warming him up so much and Blaine could feel Kurt's heartbeat through his back and it was so comforting as it pulsed against his ear. He needed this. He needed Kurt to be this close to him.

Just as Kurt fall asleep he heard Blaine mumble something. He felt it as Blaine whispered it against his back. Kurt was too tired to ask what he had said so just fall asleep.

Blaine hadn't actually realised he had said it. He had been thinking it so hard that he hadn't actually realised he had actually said it. If he had realised he had said it then he would have been glad that Kurt hadn't heard it.

"I love you." Were the words that he had muttered. He had just felt so overwhelmed with being that close to Kurt and how safe he felt with Kurt against him. However, no matter the mount of love he was feeling, he was sure that Kurt didn't feel the same way about him.

Blaine nuzzled his face against Kurt's back and slowly fell asleep.

It was a peaceful sleep and Blaine felt completely at ease. He woke up halfway through the night without panic or fright. It was wonderful. He pulled Kurt closer to him, smiling and fell back to sleep.

Blaine's peaceful sleep came to an abrupt end as his dreams became dark and cold. All he could see was blood and dead eyes. All he could hear was an agonising cry. All he could smell was iron and the bitterness of gun powder.

He started screaming. Calling for help. Calling for Amber. Calling for Kurt.

"Blaine!"

"Wake up! Blaine!"

Blaine woke up, panting and shaking badly. Wes and David were around him. Wes was gently shaking him to wake him up and David was hovering nervously above him. Kurt was nowhere to be seen.

"You were having another nightmare." Wes told him, his hand resting on Blaine's back.

"Where… where is Kurt?" He asked, fear in his voice. He was scared that something had happen to him.

"He just went to get ready." David told him, "He's been gone about half an hour."

Blaine rubbed his face with his shaking hands. It would take Kurt a while get ready; it always did. His absence had probably triggered the nightmare. It had been horrible. Everyone had been dead.

"I'm ok." He lied to his friends to stop them worrying. They nodded, still worrying regardless but recognising the sign to back off slightly. Wes gave his shoulder a slight squeeze before getting off the floor and going to his bed.

"I better get up then." Blaine sighed, wishing he could sleep forever, "Got a lot of studying to do" He got up, shaking his hands to get rid of the quivers that were going through him. He was conscious of the two seniors' eyes on him so just grabbed his towel and some clothes from the suitcase and left the room, heading towards the shower room. Each room in the dormitory had their own ensuite toilet and sink but all boarding students had to share showers. They were in a large room and there were cubicles to give the boys some privacy.

On the way to the shower room Blaine meet Kurt, who was fresh faced and dressed. A wave of relief filled Blaine as Kurt waved at him from the end of the corridor. When they reached each other Blaine hugged him tightly. Kurt smelt of strawberries and vanilla; the scent of his shampoo and morning moisturiser. Not a lot of words were exchanged between the two. Just smiles, a soft kiss and the agreement of meeting in the senior common room to study. It was enough though. Enough to let Blaine know Kurt was safe and here with him. Just enough.

The shower was warm and calming and Blaine managed to relax and get his mind in gear for the day ahead of him. Trying to forget his night terrors, Blaine stepped back out of the shower room refreshed and ready.

Once again the day went too quickly for Blaine. The whole weekend seemed to be speeding past. Kurt had brought crisps and tizzlers for snacks so they munched away at them while looking over countless books. Kurt kept looking at his watch, impatiently waiting for the evening. Blaine noticed that he kept getting distracted and did very little revision. He kept texting and doodling and even going on needless coffee runs. It was as he didn't care about the exam anymore and Blaine knew why. He tried not to think about it but the thought kept popping up in his mind. It's because Kurt wasn't going to here for the exam and Kurt knew it as well.

In what seemed like a blink of an eye, 9pm rolled around and Blaine was being dragged to the choir room, where the smell of Chinese food and the looks of many stressed out and tired Warblers greeted him. Kurt and Jeff had gone off an hour earlier to seek secret passage ways and arrived back just after Blaine sat down.

"Find anything?" He asked. Kurt shook his head, smiling though as he kissed Blaine softly.

"No, but we're determined."

Blaine laughed, shaking his head at his boyfriend's childness.

The evening was spent eating lots of Chinese food and playing SingStar. Wes and David had nearly every song that you could get on the game and everyone was laughing within an hour as they watched the three head Warblers sing 'Girls just wanna have fun'. Kurt lent against Blaine, tears in his eyes as he laughed at David swaying his hips to the music. Blaine laughed as well, his good arm round Kurt's waist. The sound of his laugh was making Blaine feel light and happy. For the first time in ages he was laughing freely and enjoying himself without worry. He forgot his troubles as Kurt buried his face in his neck, shaking with laughter.

The evening finished too soon but it meant that Kurt and Blaine were cuddled up with each other again. Kurt rested his head on Blaine's shoulder, so not to hurt his ribs, and Blaine wrapped his arms around him.

"My Dad thinks I'm staying in Nick and Jeff's room." Kurt giggled as he moved his face slightly to kiss Blaine's neck.

"Really?" Blaine asked, feeling slightly worried now. He didn't want Burt to be angry with him again. He had just got over finding Blaine in his son's bed after Rachel's party.

"It's ok, he won't found out." Kurt mumbled, sounding happy but tired, "I couldn't not sleep with you when I got the chance." He nuzzled closer, his soft breathing tinkling Blaine's ear. He smiled as he felt Kurt draft off. Gently bringing Kurt closer, Blaine fall asleep as well.

**Sorry this took so long. I've been super busy the last couple of weeks. My fiancé wants to take credit for the Dalton being slightly like Hogwarts thing as apparently he told me that before I wrote it (Not that I remember that but I don't remember half the things he tells me ;D). This chapter is slightly shorter so I hope that is ok. **

**Next chapter involved the dreaded exam, alcohol and some beard proposals that people will probably kill me for :D Might add some Amber and Jon in too because I miss my babies. **

**Please review. They are my life source. I needed them to breathe. **


	6. Chapter 6

Blaine had to face Monday without Kurt. Just missing his morning smile made Blaine feel depressed and lonely. The day got worse and worse. He could barely concentrate on anything due to worry. He kept snapping at Wes and David because he was so irritable and he nearly cried when he came across a math sum let he didn't understand.

He was meeting Kurt after school at the Lima Bean so he could tell Blaine about the meeting, and he was really nervous about it.

The day went quickly as Blaine lacked the attention span to get any real work done. He drove quickly to the coffee shop, desperate to see Kurt and dreading what was going to be said. Kurt beat him there and had their orders ready, sitting at a corner table that had two armchairs. He was biting his lip, looking nervous but happy. Blaine walked over to him, smiling but inside he felt sick.

"Hi." Kurt smiled when he spotted him.

"Hello." Blaine greeted as he sat down.

"So how did it go?" He asked, unable to wait any longer to hear the bad news. Kurt bit his lip again, beginning to play with the cardboard sleeve of his coffee cup.

"Karofsky seems genuinely sorry for what he's done." He started, "He and Santana have even started this club called bully whips and they patrol the hallways at lunchtime to stop bullies."

"And?" Blaine encouraged. Kurt took a deep breath and looked up at him.

"I agreed to go back." He said with a nervous smile on his face. Blaine felt his heart tore slightly and his stomach drop. He smiled at Kurt but inside he was fighting back tears.

"Do you feel safe enough?" He asked, controlling his voice so it didn't creak.

"There's still going to be bullies but I can't run forever." Kurt replied, still picking at the sleeve. He tore it slightly as he looked at Blaine.

"I love Dalton but McKinley is where I belong." Kurt told him, "The Warblers are fantastic and I love every single last one of you but New Directions are my family and I need them, and they need me."

Blaine nodded, knowing that the glee club was always going to be the reason why Kurt would go back.

"Look at it this way." Kurt smiled, "One less person to compete with in the exam."

Blaine laughed slightly, the laugh forced, and looked down at his hands.

"When do you transfer?" He asked.

"Wednesday." Kurt replied, "Tomorrow the schools are going to deal with the paperwork and it gives me a change to say goodbye to everyone."

Blaine wanted to look up and smile at Kurt, and be supportive but he was struggling to just breathe. He didn't know how he was going to cope with not seeing Kurt everyday. It was unthinkable.

"You ok?" Kurt asked, breaking Blaine's silence. He took Blaine's hands and Blaine looked up. Kurt looked sad now and guilty.

"We'll still see each other." He said softly, "You can't get rid of me that easily."

"I know." Blaine replied and a smile reached his lips as he saw that Kurt meant it.

"I'll still look after you." He said, "Make sure you're still eating and not fainting."

Blaine shook his head, touched by Kurt's word. He didn't have to worry about him. Blaine could look after himself but it was nice to know that Kurt cared.

"And as soon as the exam is over I'm going to spoil you so much." Kurt laughed, "I'm going to take you out to dinner to celebrate its end."

Blaine smiled at him and squeezed his hands.

"I'm happy for you." He said, knowing that accepting Kurt's transfer would mean a lot to him and make it a lot easier for him to move schools, "I know how much New Directions means to you."

Kurt smiled, biting his lip gently, and nodded. Blaine was if they weren't in public then Kurt would have jumped over the table to kiss him.

"I better get going." Blaine sighed, "I've still have to study." He wished he could stay but it wasn't possible. He had cursed books to get back too. Kurt pouted but nodded.

They walked out to the parking lot and said their goodbyes. Instead of a kiss they shared a small smile. They didn't want people yelling things at them or worse so it was all they could do.

As Blaine drove back to Dalton he struggled to hold back the tears. He found it so pathetic that he depended so much on someone. He had never been like this before. The only person he had ever needed was Amber. She was all he had ever needed. But now he needs someone else. He needed Kurt so much and it scared him.

Kurt thought transferring back to McKinley would be easy but as he stepped into the large, elegant halls of Dalton he realised it was going to be a lot harder then he first thought. He realised how much he was going to miss the historic building and the lesson that actually pushed him and his abilities, and of course all of the Warblers.

He had brought a leather covered notebook and was planning on getting everyone to sign it so he had a reminder of everyone.

Jeff and Nick were the first to sign it. Nick drew Pavarotti and they both seemed to be really sad that Kurt was leaving. The rest of the Warblers also seemed sad that Kurt was leaving. He was surprised and also touched about how much the Warblers cared about him. How much they thought of him as family. He was beginning to feel guilty about leaving them.

Blaine kept to the library. All lessons were cancelled part from Maths, English and Science so students had extra time to study. He wanted to hang out with Kurt as he hunted down everyone to sign his book but the exam was in just two days so he was buried in books. Kurt did come and see him though. He made sure let Blaine had a break and some lunch, and Blaine nearly cried as he realised that was the last time Kurt was going to bother him like this to eat lunch. The last time they would be in this library together. The last day they would be in school together.

As predicated, the day went quickly and before Blaine knew it he was walking out of the doors with Kurt.

"I can't believe I'm leaving." Kurt said as tears formed in his eyes. He wiped them away and smiled up at the school.

"Thank you Dalton." He said, "For being my safe place the last couple of months."

Blaine smiled at him, taking his hand and bringing it to his lips to gently kiss Kurt's knuckles.

"You'll always welcome back here." Blaine told him. Kurt nodded, hugging him tightly.

"I'll ring you tonight." He promised. Blaine nodded, moving his hand to Kurt's cheek and bringing their faces close to their lips fused together. Kurt laughed when they broke apart.

"We'll see each other on Thursday." He reminded Blaine, as the atmosphere around them was like they were never going to see each other again. Blaine placed his forehead against Kurt's, sighing softly.

"I know."

"You didn't sign my book." Kurt told him, breaking away slightly and getting his notebook out of his bag. He handed it to Blaine, who started to slip through the thick pages. It was nearly full, save a few pages at the back.

"You will, won't you?" Kurt asked.

"Of course." Blaine nodded, "Just give me a couple of days."

Kurt smiled and kissed him again.

"I'll see you soon then." He said sadly. Blaine nodded, unable to look away from Kurt's blue eyes.

How was he going to cope with not seeing them crystal orbs for days at a time?

Kurt got into his car and Blaine watched as he drove off. He sighed, clutching the leather notebook tightly. He couldn't help but think a little bit of him had just died.

His phone vibrated and he looked at the text message from David.

'**Quick Warblers meeting in choir room now, concerning Kurt' **

Blaine frowned slightly in confusion and curiosity, and walked back into the building and towards the choir room.

Warblers were gathered, chatting about why they had been called upon. Blaine sat next to Nick and Jeff, feeling slightly numb. They both gave him sympathetic smiles.

"Sorry to disrupt your studies." Wes said, coming into the room with David and Thad. They stood at the front of the room and looked around them.

"As you all know we lost a Warbler today." He continued, "Kurt was a brilliant member of out choir and we believe he deserves a proper Warbler send off."

"He's not dead you know." Nick laughed. The other Warblers laughed as well and even Blaine smiled at the way Wes was going on about Kurt's departure.

"Yes." David smiled, "But we still think we need to do something for him."

"We spoke to a few of you and you all said that you would like to perform for him."

This was the first time that Blaine heard of this and felt touched by it. He was sure Kurt would love it as well.

"We are planning on doing a performance tomorrow morning on the McKinley campus." Thad told the group.

"How are we going to be ready in time for that?" A sophomore asked.

"What about out lessons?" Someone else asked. The room was filled with chatter as everyone doubted the senior's decision.

Wes banged his gavel and the room turned quiet.

"We realise that none of you have a lot of free time at the moment so we are going to perform a song we already know so we don't have to come up with anything new and we're going to wing the choreography." He told them.

"It will make it feel more real that way." David added in.

"What song are we going to do?" Jeff asked.

"Well," Thad said, "We thought Blaine would like to choose the number."

Everyone looked to Blaine who was surprised by the suggestion. He had kept quiet up until now.

"Me?" He asked, looking around.

"As lead Warbler and Kurt's boyfriend your opinion is very important." Wes told him. Blaine looked around again. Every eye was on him. Nick and Jeff gave him an encouraging smile each.

"Ok." Blaine said, turning back to the head Warblers, "I think we should do 'Somewhere only we know." He waited for his fellow warblers to approve before explaining why.

"It sums up what Kurt's been going through the last couple of months and what Dalton meant to him." Blaine told them, "And we all know the song and it doesn't need much choreography."

The rest of the Warblers nodded, obviously happy with the choice.

Over the next hour they practice the song. They had tried this song out a couple of months before Kurt arrived at Dalton. They had been planning on singing it at their Invitational but went with another song instead. Everyone agreed that the choice was prefect and the head Warblers informed them that they had managed to get morning passes for everyone as most lessons were cancelled due to the exam.

Blaine left the choir room feeling slightly happier and with the weight on his shoulders slightly lighter. Kurt was going to love the performance.

Blaine returned to the library and his light mood darkened as he drowned himself in words and numbers. His mind began to shut down slightly as the pages made no sense and his heart longed for Kurt's promised phone call.

Blaine decided to move his studying to his car even though it was still quite early in the afternoon. He swapped his blazer for Kurt's hoodie and wrapped the duvet around himself. He kept low so people couldn't see him and held the book out in front of him.

He found himself mumbling the lyrics to 'Somewhere only we know' under his breath. It made him smile as he looked forward to singing tomorrow. Singing put pressure on his ribs as his diaphragm expanded, causing slight pain to spread across his chest. It hurt but Blaine really wanted to sing for Kurt. It was the only way he could think of to thank Kurt. Through song.

Blaine doesn't know when he drifted off to sleep. It was somewhere after he had read about chemical patterns. All he knew was that he was awoken by 'Teenage dream' filling the car. It was dark outside now and Blaine searched around for his phone blindly.

"Hello?" He yawned into to phone.

"Did I wake you?" Kurt laughed on the other end.

"Mmm." Blaine mumbled, rubbing his eyes and checking his watch. It was only 9pm.

"Sorry, do you want me to go?" Kurt asked.

"No! No, I need to be awake anyway." Blaine said, desperate for Kurt to stay talking to him.

"Ok, got much studying done?" Kurt asked.

"Not enough." Blaine replied.

"I really miss you." Kurt told him. Blaine laughed.

"What is going to happen when we go to college?" He asked, "What if we go to different colleges?"

"Don't say something like that!" Kurt said, "We're going to NYU together."

Blaine laughed at Kurt's determinism. He was set on them going to the Big Apple together. Blaine didn't want to disappoint him yet and tell him let he couldn't go.

Seeing as they were on the topic Kurt decided to stay on the topic. He told Blaine all about the apartment they were going to get and the shows they were going to see.

Blaine sat there and listened happily. He liked thinking about living with Kurt in New York and spending their lives together in an apartment over looking one of the bays. It sounded so romantic.

Blaine also loved that Kurt thought of them being together at college. It made Blaine think and hope that Kurt will want to stay with him and that this wasn't just a fling. It might just be blind hope though. When Kurt is picturing himself in New York, he might be picturing himself next to anyone; not necessary Blaine. He knew Kurt didn't like to be alone. He had a lot to share and he liked sharing it with someone close to him. Kurt just wanted someone beside him to share his experiences with, his love with, and Blaine was sure let it didn't have to be him. Kurt was just imagining himself with Blaine because they were together now.

"I can't believe I'm going to New York in a month's time." Kurt nearly squealed.

"Oh yeah." Blaine realised, "You're going to Nationals now."

"Yeah!" Kurt laughed, "It's going to be amazing!"

Blaine laughed again as he heard the glee in Kurt's voice. He was so happy and excited. So different to the first conversation they ever had on the phone.

Kurt had called him up after Karofsky had attacked him in the changing rooms. Kurt had been crying and telling Blaine he had no one else to turn to. Blaine had stayed up all night talking to the then near stranger. He had decided then that he had wanted to be close to Kurt and he wanted to protect him. He didn't want to hear Kurt cry again.

After more then an hour of talking the conversation drew to a reluctant end. Blaine listened to Kurt hung up. He missed his voice already.

Blaine picked up a book that had fallen on the floor of the car. The faces of a woman and a man kissing plastered the cover.

"I hate you." He grumbled at the book, before opening it and slipping to the page he wanted. Using his phone as a light, Blaine read his chosen scene. He read until he slept and then again when he woke at 1am from a nightmare.

It was like a circle. He studied until his brain couldn't take it anymore and he fell asleep from exhaustion. He would then have a nightmare that would lead him to wake up in a panic, hurting himself as he fought off the invisible force. As soon as he calmed down, Blaine would open the books again and read.

The circle repeated itself four or five times that night, meaning Blaine was exhausted in the morning.

The Warblers meet up early to get to McKinley. David and Wes had organised it with Mercedes to perform just before the morning lessons, so Kurt could have his goodbyes before officially going back to McKinley.

Blaine rode in Thad's car to Lima along with Wes and David. They practice their parts for the number. Blaine found that he was slightly nervous, which was weird as he wasn't normally nervous about performing. It was the one thing that he was normally completely comfortable with.

Mercedes met the group in the car park of the school, smiling excitable.

"Kurt's going to love this!" She told them, leading them to the food court. It was the perfect place for the performance and was already full with students meeting before lessons.

"What's with the piano?" Nick asked, looking over the court from their hiding place.

"The Jazz band set it up for the performance." Mercedes explained, "Some of them are amongst the crowd to give you back up."

Blaine saw a few of the New Directions gather at the bottom of the concrete steps and Mercedes excused herself and went over to them.

"Ready for this?" Wes asked Blaine who nodded. He spotted Kurt come running down the steps to his friends and Blaine smiled at Kurt's outfit choice. Trust Kurt to wear a top hat on his first day back. He always likes making an entrance.

"That's our signal." David said, nudging Blaine. He nodded again, leading Wes and David down the steps and up to Kurt.

Kurt looked surprised and smiled at them, tears already moisten his eyes and making them sparkle.

"Kurt." Blaine said, already feeling how hard this was going to be, "Dalton's going to miss you, you were a great addition to the Warblers and you made us a better team."

Kurt looked up at him, looking sad. He was going to miss them as well.

"We're all sad to see you go but we know that this is something you really want." Blaine continued, studying Kurt's face. The smile that wouldn't greet him every morning anymore.

"I'll still have you after school and on the weekends but these guys won't so we wanted to say goodbye." Blaine's voice started to crack slightly so Wes took over.

"And thank you Kurt."

Kurt took a deep breath, not sure if he was ready to hear this goodbye. Blaine started singing and Kurt's heart leapt to his throat. His voice was so beautiful and this song was so perfect for the Warblers style. Before the first line was even over Kurt knew he would be crying by the end of it.

The rest of the Warblers came from behind the side of the building and walked down the steps towards them, singing and harmonising with Blaine. Kurt was so touched that they had all come to see him, especially since the big exam was tomorrow.

Blaine could already feel himself breaking down. Tears were catching in his throat as he struggled to keep his voice steady. He had to do this for Kurt though so he fought back the tears that wanted to escape.

Kurt knew he should look to the other Warblers that had come to say goodbye to him but his eyes wouldn't leave Blaine as he moved across the steps. Kurt had to question; why was he leaving Blaine to come back to McKinley? His life was so perfect when he saw Blaine everyday. The tears were threatening to fell and Kurt kept his arms crossed against his chest, not trusting himself to move otherwise he might break down.

Unable to keep looking at Kurt, Blaine ran down the steps and towards the piano. If he kept on looking at Kurt, he was sure he would cry and ruin the performance. The brief moment of turning away from Kurt gave Blaine enough time to compose himself so he could continue confidently. He liked the piano, he decided as he played the song. It was fun playing outside.

The Warblers gathered around him and Kurt looked like he was about to cry. Blaine walked over to him, staring into his eyes and grabbing his hands. He gently pulled Kurt down the steps, not caring about all the students watching them, and spun him round. He let go off Kurt's soft hands as the Warblers began to say goodbye to Kurt one by one. For the first time Kurt looked away from Blaine to say goodbye to his Dalton family. Blaine stood back and watched as hugs, pats on the shoulders and sad looks were exchanged and he continued to sing. Kurt let his barrier break down and he let the tears fall as he watched the Warblers walk off. Wes and David were the last ones and he bit his lip, taking their hands in a sad handshake.

And then Finn was there to remind him why he wanted to come back to McKinley. He scooped Kurt into a tight hug, smiling proudly at his brother.

Blaine watched Kurt hug Mercedes before turning to him again. Their eyes caught and a lump formed in Blaine's throat as he finished the song. He was shaking and tears were hovering at the corner of his eyes. He saw a tear run down Kurt's cheek as he smiled at him. Kurt stepped forward, unable to withhold the distance anymore. They hugged tightly. Blaine buried his face into Kurt's neck, somehow managing to not let the tears how. He clutched his eyes shut tight as Kurt said,

"I'll never say goodbye to you."

Blaine nearly slipped out the words,

"I love you." But he kept his mouth shut; not ready to say them and also not wanting Kurt to see him cry.

They broke apart and looked at each other again. Kurt smiled at him and Blaine turned around, knowing it was his time to leave. He followed his friends up the steps, but stopped near the top and looked back. Kurt was surrounded by his friends and Blaine smiled.

Kurt was where he belonged.

"You ok?" Jeff asked as they walked back to their cars. Blaine nodded, not trusting himself to talk. He kept his head down as the rest of the Warblers talked about how well the performance went. There was an atmosphere of excitement amongst them, as was always after a successful performance, meaning there was slightly less stress exam.

Blaine wasn't participating in the conversation though. He followed the seniors to their car and slipped into the back seat. He bit his lip, holding back his tears, as he looked out of the window.

Thad, David and Wes decided not to talk to Blaine as they drove back, sensing he did not want to engage in conversation. He just wanted to get out the car, hide in a dark hole and cry.

He missed Kurt so much already. He was worried about Kurt's safety as well. He knew that there will be bullies at McKinley, even with the bully whips. At Dalton Blaine knew he was safe. At McKinley Blaine didn't know what was going on.

Blaine wiped away a tear that had broken through his barrier, as they pulled back into Dalton.

"Back to the stressed filled Dalton." Thad sighed, watching the lower year Warblers hurry out of their cars and into the school; probably to the library. Blaine watched them go as well, sighing as the sadness was replaced with anxiety. Crying would have to wait; he had to study right now. Tomorrow could possibly be the most important day of his High School life.

"Thanks for the lift." Blaine said, getting out of the car and clutching his shoulder bag tightly against him. The three seniors simply nodded at him and Blaine walked to the library. He struggled to found a table because the room was so full with students but he managed to found one at the back. He spread his books across the table and started his last day of studying for the big exam.

Trying to get everything out of his mind, Blaine buried himself in the books. It was tiresome and boring but Blaine had to do it. He didn't talk to anyone and didn't stop.

Lunch and dinner were ignored and Blaine didn't feel the hungry as he tried to concentrate on the paper around him. He wasn't the only one skipping meals though. Everyone around him was scribbling away and rereading everything they had learnt since they arrived at Dalton and more. No one acknowledged that end of day bell. No one moved. The seniors kept to their dorms; not wanting to be caught up in the deadly atmosphere.

Night arrived silently and the sky turned to a haunting black. Most of the boarding students had gone to their rooms so the library only had a few students left.

Blaine's eyes started to draft shut at about 10pm. He had to shake himself to wake up. He needed coffee but everywhere would be shut now. Blinking hard, Blaine tried to stay focused. It was difficult though. His chest had a dull ache; not enough to make moving too painful but consistent enough to tire him out. He ran a hand through his hair, causing it to stick up at a strange angle. His head was just a jumble of words and numbers. He couldn't concentrate anymore.

Sighing, Blaine gathered up his books and slowly walked to his car. The cold air cleared his head slightly as he walked outside and he felt ready to do some more work. He still didn't feel ready for the exam and this worried him greatly. He got into his car, pulling on Kurt's hoodie. It was cold tonight and Blaine could see his breath in front of him in a misty steam. It was March, so the warm weather was creeping through but the nights were still cold. Tonight, however, seemed colder then usual. He wrapped the duvet around himself tightly, shivering.

"Ok." He said, trying to calm his worry and panic, "Another hour of studying and then sleep."

The exam was at 9am and he wanted to get enough sleep. So Blaine read, wishing he had a woolly hat to warm his ears. He pulled the hood up and snuggled deeper into the duvet.

When he decided to go to sleep he couldn't. It was freezing in the car and even though he was completely covered in the duvet, he was still shivering. The chills caused his chest to sting in protest. The pain was made worse by the cold, which made his joints ache.

Trying to ignore the thudding pain, Blaine plugged in his headphones and turned on his music. He closed his eyes, trying to relax. Every time he got slightly comfortable a spasm would go through his body and he would start shivering again, causing him to get uncomfortable and finding it very difficult to stop shaking.

He laid awake, sleep not even coming close. He kept thinking about the exam and information filled his head. He got a headache as they rushed around his mind like cars on a race track.

_5 hours until I've got to wake up, _he thought as he lay awake. Another hour passed and still sleep did not claim him. He got fed up so he started reading again.

As Romeo tried to seduce Juliet, Blaine's eyes began to close. He dropped the book and closed his eyes. He foolishly thought that sleep was going to come but it didn't. His entire body felt heavy and he found it different to move but his brain was still active and alert. It felt like a firework show, with his thoughts so loud and frequent it was deafening and so much was happening at once.

3 more hours until he had to get up and Blaine was still awake. Nothing seemed to help. Reading, singing to himself or listening to Kurt's voice on his iPod. None of it helped.

_2 more hours. _

Birds began to sing as the temperature rose slightly. Blaine felt exhausted.

_1 more hour._

The sky changed colour as it went from black, to dark blue to a light blue.

Blaine's phone alarm went off at 6am and he sighed. Time to get up and ready. He had dozed off a few times, only to wake soon afterwards worrying about the exam.

Blaine showered slowly, his hands shaking and his head spinning. He felt so stupid for not sleeping, despite trying his hardest. He let the water run over his cold face, hoping it would wake him up. It helped a little bit and he felt slightly better as he stepped out of the shower. Blaine's hands were still shaking as he got dressed and made his way to the coffee hall.

As it was the morning of the big exam, the hall was already full of students doing last minute revision and alerting their brains by filling their selves with caffeine.

Blaine was planning doing exactly that as he ordered a medium drip. He sat down at an empty table and looked over his key notes. As he read and reread his notes, Blaine got text messages from various people wishing him luck. Amber was the first to disturb his thoughts.

'**Good luck big bro! Let me know how it goes' **

Then came Kurt.

'**Good Luck Baby! See you tonight xx' **

Then came David and Wes, then Jon and even Rachel and Mercedes.

Blaine smiled as he looked at all the support he was getting. He realised there were people out there that actually cared about him. All the massages made him feel lighter and happy.

At about half eight, students began to make their way to the giant gym hall.

"Turn your phones off and leave them in your bag at the side of the hall." One teacher told the students as the filed into the hall. Blaine walked in nervously, passing a sign which read, 'Scholarship exam 2011'. Blaine found his seat near the front and sat down, shaking.

"Ok breathe." He mumbled under his breath, tapping his pen against the desk nervously.

The hall was filled and the papers were handed out. All three sections in one. Maths, Science and English all in one very scary paper.

"You all have two hours and fifteen minutes." The examiner said from the front of the hall. He was an old man, with wire thin glasses and a firm voice.

"You may begin."

Simultaneously everyone turned over their paper and began to scribble.

Forty-five minutes was for each section. For the English section the students had to write an essay about their chosen book or play. Maths and Science were a series of questions. Blaine decided to start with the English section, where he had to write about how the prologue of Romeo and Juliet was significant for the rest of the play.

Blaine's breathing quickened as his mind kept blanking out.

_Calm down_, he thought. Closing his eyes and counting to ten seemed to smooth himself. It helped as his breathing normalised slightly.

He began to write again, trying to gather all the information he knew together. Much to his horror, Blaine found the sleepless night catching up on him as his eyes began to close involuntary. The quietness of the room made him feel even drowsier. He tried to ignore the feeling as he analysed the line; 'And the continuance of their parents' rage, which, but their children's end, nought could remove'.

_It was raining outsid__e. Blaine was standing in a park; the rain was so heavy that Blaine was struggling to keep his eyes open. _

"_Blaine!" A voice yelled behind him. Blaine spun round and squinted to see through the rain. Amber was standing there, her hair plastered to her face from the heavy downfall. _

"_Amber." Blaine shouted over the beat of the rain. He rushed over to her, jogging to get to her. When he reached her, he leant down and placed his hands on her arms. She looked up at him; her eyes were pale and bloodshot and she had a bruise around her left eye. _

"_Who did that?" Blaine asked, gently touching Amber's cheekbone. She flinched and moved away. _

"_You know." She hissed, her eyes growing dark with anger, "You knew he would do this but you left anyway." _

_Blaine withdrew his hand, as if he had been burnt, and shook his head._

"_No... I... I didn't know." He tried to convince her, "I had to go." _

_Amber glared at him before turning on her heel and running away. Blaine stood there for a second, shocked, before running after her. _

"_Amber!" He yelled, blinded by the rain, "Amber stop!" _

_He reached the parking lot of the park and stopped running, looking around to see if he could see Amber. _

_A figure stood in the middle of the car park, facing him. Blaine blinked away the rain, trying to see who it was. They were wearing a yellow rain coat and the hood was up, half hiding their face. _

_Blaine took a step forward._

"_Have you seen a young girl run through here?" He asked. The figure took a step towards and Blaine and he saw that it was Kurt. _

"_Kurt!" Blaine yelled in relief, rushing over to him. Blaine wrapped his arms around him, glad he was here._

"_I can't found Amber__." Blaine said into Kurt's neck, "She's hurt." _

"_You need to wake up." Kurt said. Blaine looked up, confused. The rain soaked Kurt as well, and a droplet of water fell off his nose as he looked at Blaine._

"_I am awake__." Blaine told him. Kurt shook his head, smiling at him._

"_Wake up Blaine."_

Blaine jumped awake with a loud gasp, sitting up straight in his chair. A boy beside him looked at him in surprise and a sharp "Shhhh." Came from behind him, making Blaine jump again.

He was still in the gym hall. He had fallen asleep during the exam.

"Shit." He cursed under his breath, panting as pain erupted in his chest. He looked at his watch and felt his blood run cold. There was only half an hour left on the exam.

_Oh my God!_ Blaine thought, looking at the half essay he had written. _How could I have fallen asleep?_

Forgetting the essay, Blaine flipped to the Maths bit of the paper and started working on them problems, hardly able to concentrate on the questions as he panicked.

His chest hurt so much where he had been leaning on it and he found it hard to breathe. His airways seemed to have closed up but Blaine was trying to work through the exam.

However it was very hard to answer anything when you couldn't breathe and Blaine found himself holding his chest in pain and doubling over as he tried to get air into his lungs.

The boy sitting next to him seemed to see Blaine's distress and raised his hand to get one of the supervisor's attentions.

Blaine shook his head as a women came up to him and knelt down next to the desk to whisper to Blaine.

"What's wrong?" She asked. Blaine couldn't spoke so just shook his head. She looked concerned as she noticed that Blaine was struggling to breathe.

"Come on, let's get you outside." She said, gently taking his arm. Blaine began to panic even more at the prospect of leaving the exam early. He shook his head, tears in his eyes as he indicated to the paper.

"You have to go outside." The women whispered to him, "You are having a panic attack and also disturbing the other students."

Blaine felt defeated as he was lead out of the hall. As they were at the front they had to walk up the rows of desk and students to get to the door at the back. Blaine felt like every eye was on him.

Outside in the corridor, the women sat Blaine down on a seat and knelt down in front of him.

"Ok, you need to breathe." She said. Blaine looked down at his lap, closing his eyes as a few tears escaped. They were tears of frustration and fright.

"Concentrate on breathing." The women tried to calm him. Blaine decided to concentrate on her voice as she guided him through the panic attack.

"In...out...in...out." She said quietly. As she spoke these words Blaine obeyed, feeling too weak to fight his way back into the hall. He very slowly calmed down, and was left panting in the corridor. He briefly acknowledged the women ask a fellow teacher to get the school nurse as he sat there, his hands curled into firsts on his legs and looking at the wall in front of him. His chest still hurt and he felt like an idiot. So pathetic. Everything he had been working towards was ruined.

The school nurse came and looked him over.

"Do you normally have panic attacks?" She asked, putting the back of her hand on his forehead.

"Sometimes." Blaine told her, his voice hoarse from the struggle.

"You feel a bit hot." The nurse said, frowning slightly, "Maybe you're coming down with something."

Blaine didn't really listen to the rest and he was only half aware as he was lead to the nurse's room. Once there he was sat on one of the beds and told to rest while the women teacher spoke to the examiner to see if he could go back in for the time he missed.

"There isn't a lot of point." He told the women as she told him he could, "I fell asleep and missed most of it, I can't finish the exam in 25 minutes."

The women looked sorry for him, and gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder before leaving.

He felt like shouting. He felt like crying and tearing himself apart. It was all over. His life was over because he was stupid enough to fall asleep during the most important exam of his life.

The scholarship was going to fix everything. It would give him free education for his last year and also paid for accommodation for the year. That included a room and 3 free meals a day. Only 3 students from each year get the scholarship and most students take the exam, as well as a few students hoping to get into Dalton but unable to afford it. The highest ranking students receive the scholarship but there was no way Blaine would be in the top three, even if he went back in and did the remaining 25 minutes.

Come September Blaine would have no school to go to as well as nowhere to live. At least during the last three weeks he had Dalton. He knew he was safe at Dalton. He had a family at Dalton. But now he had to give that up. The safeness he felt at the school, as well as the friends he had made.

He had to leave the Warblers.

Tears came to his eyes at just the thought of it. The Warblers had saved him. The Warblers were his family and his friends.

What was he suppose to do now?

It was raining outside when the nurse let Blaine go. It was past noon and all of the lower years had been allowed to go home early. The seniors were still in lessons; something Blaine was very glad of as that meant Wes and David would not have heard about his panic attack yet, meaning hopefully the news would not have reached Kurt. Blaine really did not want Kurt to know how pathetic he was.

The rain was as heavy as it was in his dream, so Blaine decided to wait in his car for a little while, watching as his windows were blurred with the running water. It was calming in a way, but Blaine couldn't help but think what it would be like to be out in it, slowly drowning.

Once the rain calmed down a little, Blaine drove to Lima. McKinley hadn't finished yet so he drove to a nearby park where he had gone with Kurt once. It looked like the park from his dream and Blaine stepped out of the car, not caring about the rain soaking through his clothes. He walked through the empty park, unable to think properly. His mind just seemed blank.

Blaine walked to a bench where him and Kurt had sat and talked. It was facing a huge green field. When they had been there before, the weather had been warm and the sky blue so people where on the field playing football and soccer. No one was around now and the grass was muddy and the park silent part from the beating the endless rain.

Blaine didn't feel the cold as his clothes provided little protection. He just stared in front of him, letting himself be consumed by the darkness that his heart contained. He felt it overtaking his body as he thought about everything that had gone wrong in his life. He couldn't help but think that it was so unfair. He had never done anything wrong so why was he being punished? His mind gave him no answer.

He sat there for a couple of hours. He didn't feel the time go by though. It all felt the same to him.

He was shaken out of his trance by his phone going off. He looked at it, wiping the scene from the rain. It was a text message from Kurt, asking where he was. It was then Blaine remembered why he was in Lima, sitting in the rain. He had been waiting for Kurt to finish school. Blaine had forgotten.

Texting Kurt that he was on his way, Blaine made his way back to his car and drove to the Hummel-Hudson household.

He knocked on the door and was welcomed by a smiling Kurt. The smile wore off as he saw Blaine standing there dripping wet and with blank, bloodshot eyes.

"Blaine! Why are you so wet?" Kurt asked, gently taking his hand and dragging him into the warmth of the house.

"I took a walk." Blaine mumbled, his voice still hoarse from the panic attack earlier and from not talking in hours. Kurt peeled his blazer off and undid Blaine's tie for him. He looked worried as he looked at Blaine. Blaine just looked at his feet, not noticing that he was shivering.

"Come on, I'll get you some clean clothes and a towel." Kurt told him, taking Blaine's hand again and leading him upstairs after Blaine took off his shoes. He was semi-conscious about the fact he was getting the floor wet with his trousers. He was lead into Kurt's ensuite and given a warm towel. Kurt sat him on the edge of the bath and wrapped another towel round his shoulders.

"Why did you take a walk in this rain?" Kurt asked gently, rubbing Blaine's upper arms. Blaine shrugged, holding the towel loosely in his hands. He looked down at the tiled floor, biting his lip to hold back the tears that were catching in his throat.

"Blaine?" Kurt said as he knelt down in front of Blaine so their eyes connected. Kurt's eyes were full of concern. Blaine noticed this and swallowed the tears away. He gave his boyfriend a small smile.

"Haven't you ever taken a walk in the rain?" Blaine asked. Kurt looked into Blaine's eyes and placed a hand on his cheek. Blaine leant into the touch, closing his eyes as the warm fingers cherished his cold skin.

"You're freezing." Kurt told him, "I'll go get you some clothes."

Blaine nodded, wiping his face with the towel. He was trying to shake himself of his depression so Kurt wouldn't get too concerned. Kurt came back in the bathroom with some jeans, a black t-shirt and a blue chequered hoodie, along with some underwear. Blaine blushed as he realised that he was going to wear his boyfriend's boxers. It felt really personal and intimate.

"I'll wait out here." Kurt told him, before going into his bedroom and closing the door. Blaine sighed and stood up, walking over to the mirror and looking at his reflection. The rain had made his skin pale, or maybe that was all the stress he was under, and he had dark circles under his eyes. His eyes were bloodshot and his pupils looked dull. The rain had soaked his hair, making it slightly straighter then normal as it stuck to his forehead. He swapped a few strands away from his eyes and started to take off his clothes. This was the first time he had really looked at himself since the attack and he noticed that he looked skinner then almost three weeks ago. His ribs were slightly more noticeable and one side was still swollen and slightly bruised. His chest and stomach muscles were slightly less firm as he hadn't had the time or facilities to do his nightly exercises. He used to do sit ups, weights and use a cycling machine that was in his room every night. He wanted to be perfect for Kurt.

But as Blaine looked at his reflection he realised that he was far from it.

He quickly got dressed and went back to the bedroom. Kurt was waiting in there, sitting on the bed and looking slightly nervous. Blaine sat next to him, not saying a word.

"What's wrong Blaine?" Kurt asked, putting a hand on Blaine's leg. Blaine sighed, and lent his head against Kurt's shoulder.

"The exam didn't go well." He mumbled.

"I'm sure you did fine Blaine." Kurt told him, rubbing his thumb against Blaine's leg. Blaine shook his head.

"You worked so hard, Blaine." Kurt said, "I'm sure it paid off."

Blaine closed his eyes. He had worked hard. He had locked himself in a trance as he read and studied and worked, but he had fucked it all up.

"Try not to dwell on it." Kurt whispered into his hair. He then stood up and grabbed one of the towels. He held it over Blaine's head and then started to rub his hair gently. Blaine couldn't help but smile at the feel of Kurt's fingers gently massaging his head. It felt nice.

"Can we not go out today?" Blaine asked as Kurt finished his job. He sat back next to Blaine and nodded.

"Yeah, what do you want to do instead?" He asked. Blaine shrugged. What he really wanted to do was crawl into a dark hole and die, but he wasn't going to tell Kurt that.

"We could order a pizza and just snuggle in bed watching movies." Kurt smiled. Blaine looked up at him and smiled as well. He hoped Kurt wouldn't notice that the smile didn't reach his eyes.

Kurt did notice though as he gave Blaine a quick kiss and then went to get his DVD collection. Blaine was acting very strange and something was defiantly very wrong. He didn't want to pressure Blaine into telling him though as that could make everything so much worse. The best he could do was look after Blaine and attempt to cheer him up, or at least make him forget his worries for a little while. Blaine would tell him when he was ready. If he tried to force Blaine to tell him before that then Blaine may hate him for it.

And he defiantly didn't want Blaine to hate him.

Blaine was quiet as he lied down on the bed next to Kurt. The film that had been chosen was 'Tangled' as it was Kurt's favourite Disney film at the moment and Blaine had not seen it yet; a fact that earned a shocked gasp from Kurt. Blaine could still hear the rain falling as he curled up against the brown haired boy. As Blaine was shivering still, Kurt wrapt the duvet around them and then wrapped his arms round Blaine's shoulders, rubbing his arms to warm him up. Blaine moved closer to Kurt, ignoring his ribs protest as he leant against his chest. He wanted to be close to Kurt. He needed to feel loved. He needed to do someone was there for him, and lying this close to Kurt made him feel that.

"This film is so beautiful." Kurt said, absentmindedly as it started. Blaine looked at the scene, feeling a sense of nostalgia. He hadn't watched a Disney film in ages and the last time was with Amber. He had watched Toy Story with Amber at the cinema, but he hadn't watched a Disney film about princesses in years. He had stopped when his father had slapped him round the head when he was watching Cinderella with Amber a couple of years ago. He had been told to go play basketball or go outside and do something a 'normal' boy would do.

Blaine's heart still ached and his throat still caught on unshed tears, but the feeling of Kurt's heart beating and feeling his body heat warm through him made Blaine feel a little better. He still had Kurt. For now.

Blaine didn't concentrate on the film that well as his mind grew blank again. The simplest thing to do seemed to be not thinking at all. Kurt rubbed Blaine's shoulder in small circles, singing softly along with the songs he had memorised from the movie. He knew every single line, every single note. The soft sound of Kurt's voice smoothed Blaine. It was like a drug. He couldn't get enough of it.

After the film ended, Kurt ordered some pizza and they ate it down in the living room with Finn, watching American's Got Talent. Blaine was still quiet, but the calm, friendly atmosphere made him feel normal. He listened contently as Finn laughed at a comedy act, and Kurt got excited over a singer who was surprisingly good. Blaine didn't speak though; scared of breaking down if he tried to speak too much. Kurt kept an arm round his waist, bringing Blaine close to him. He rested his chin on Blaine's head, making Blaine feel safe.

After a little while, Blaine blanked out so didn't notice when the programme ended so was surprised when he felt Kurt move beside him. He stood up, holding his hand out for Blaine to take. He took it and was lead upstairs again. He noticed that Kurt was as quiet, in the sense that he wasn't asking Blaine anymore questions and wasn't expecting Blaine to talk to him. Kurt did chat away like he normally did though; talking about the latest gossip and the number they were in glee club at the moment, and the latest fashion. Just anything that came to his mind.

Kurt popped in another movie and they cuddled again on the bed. He made sure Blaine was warm, and stroked his hair to try and smooth him. It seemed to work and Blaine fall asleep quite soon into the movie. Kurt stayed quiet, continuing to stroke Blaine's hair softly. He looked peaceful; a lot different than earlier. When Blaine arrived on the doorstep he looked broken and lost. There was no life in his eyes and it had scared Kurt so much. He wanted to know what was wrong but he was scared to ask. He didn't want to scare Blaine away because he was sure Blaine needed him right now.

When the movie ended, Kurt expected Blaine to wake but he didn't. He was still curled against Kurt, deep in sleep. Kurt laid there for a little while, watching Blaine sleep. There something so hypnotic about watching him slowly breathing in and out, his chest moving slowly, that made Kurt forget time. He smiled, stroking Blaine's hair out of his face and kissing his forehead. Blaine mumbled something, nuzzling deeper into Kurt's chest.

After a while, Kurt recognised it was getting really late. The house was quiet, making Kurt think everyone was in bed. He was surprised that his Dad hadn't come in and told them it was late. He normally did when Blaine was around, not wanting a repeat of Rachel's party.

Kurt didn't want to wake Blaine though. He looked too peaceful. Kurt very slowly untangled himself from Blaine's hold and made sure that he was completely covered with the duvet. Placing one more kiss to Blaine's forehead, Kurt crept out of the room and downstairs. He got a spare blanket from out of the under stairs cupboard and made himself comfortable on the sofa. Kurt very quickly went to sleep.

**This chapter was going to be longer but the way it was going, it would have been way too long so I decided to split it into two chapters instead. The next chapter should be up soon.**

**I don't know a lot about American exams and stuff so I wrote it like the way we do it, where we are shoved in our gym or assembly hall and are sat in rows of small desks. We always have a scary examiner as well who patrols the rows like Dracula. **

**I hope that some parts aren't too confusing, as I've had them say stuff without an explanation. They will get one, don't worry. **

**And the 'Somewhere only we know' bit, I didn't put in the lyrics as I thought it would disrupt the words slightly, so just imagine the song as you read that bit. :) **

**Nearly done now, I think there will only be 2 or 3 more chapters. **

**Please review. **


	7. Chapter 7

Kurt was awoken the next morning by someone placing a mug of coffee on the coffee table in front of him. He groaned as he rolled over and opened his eyes. His dad was sitting in his armchair, looking at him while holding a mug of streaming coffee. The aroma helped Kurt's brain wake up slightly as he yawned and stretched his limbs out.

"Is there any particular reason you slept on the sofa?" Burt asked, as Kurt sat up, leaning over to pick up the coffee. He held it between in his hands, bringing the mug up so the smell was directly under his nose. He took a deep sigh as the steam slowly alerted his brain.

"Blaine fell asleep and I didn't have the heart to wake him." He told his dad. Burt raised an eyebrow, surprised.

"So he didn't go home?" He asked.

"Not unless he snuck out in the middle of the night, no." Kurt shook his head, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Finn told me that he looked very upset last night?" Burt told him. It was more a question then anything. Kurt nodded.

"I'm not sure why though." He said, looking into his mug instead of at his dad, "He wouldn't tell me why."

"Do you think it's about the exam?" Burt asked, remembering Kurt telling him that Blaine was working very hard for it. Maybe too hard. Kurt didn't answer for a minute, looking at the coffee slowly move around the mug.

"I think its part of it." He finally said, "But I think there is something else; something important he is holding back." He sighed, before drinking his coffee. He finished it off and stood up, rubbing his aching shoulders. He must have slept at a weird angle.

"I better get ready for school." He told his Dad "Is it ok if Blaine hangs out here today if he wants to?"

"Doesn't he have school?" Burt asked. Kurt shook his head.

"They gave everyone who took the exam a day off to recover."

Burt nodded, silently drinking his coffee. Kurt smiled before walking out of the room. He placed his empty mug into the sink in the kitchen and then went down to the basement where he knew he had some clean washing. He grabbed a pair of black jeans and a red and black chequered jacket. His t-shirt was ready in his school bag from where he had made it the day before. He was very proud of it and couldn't wait to perform later today.

Kurt ironed his clothes before going into the downstairs bathroom. He showered and got dressed, glad he had his moisturising kit down here as well. He was just finishing off his hair when he heard a shout upstairs, followed by Finn yelling his name.

"Kurt!"

Kurt rushed out of the bathroom and ran up the stairs two at a time. Finn was standing at the door of Kurt's bedroom, which was open. He could hear shouts coming from inside the room. He ran to Finn's side to see inside. Blaine was thrashing around in the bed, legs kicking the duvet off and his arms up in front of him as if he was trying to defend himself from something.

"I heard yells so I opened the door." Finn told Kurt, his face pale, "I thought you were hurt, I didn't know Blaine was in here."

Kurt barely heard him as he rushed to Blaine's side, trying to grab hold of his hands.

"Blaine!" He said loudly over the screams. Blaine jumped awake as Kurt shook him. He looked around, eyes wide and moist. He looked confused as he tried to figure out where he was. His eyes caught sight of Kurt standing over him and relaxed slightly.

"You're ok, it was just a dream." Kurt told him, taking his hands and rubbing his knuckles with his thumb. Finn had left them, closing the door behind him, so they were alone now. Blaine sat up and hugged Kurt, his breathing heavy as he tried to calm himself down. Kurt kissed his hair, whispering to smooth Blaine.

"You're safe, I've got you."

Blaine squeezed his eyes shut, biting his lip as he held onto Kurt tightly. Everything that happened yesterday came rushing back to him and he once again struggled to hold back the tears.

"You fell asleep so I slept downstairs." Kurt told him, still hugging him, "I have to go to school but you can stay here if you want."

Blaine was the one that broke the embrace, looking at Kurt, who smiled at him.

"You can sleep some more, and have a shower." He told Blaine, "Just relax."

Blaine managed to smile, the concept of relaxing very appalling.

"Do you want to come see our performance later?" Kurt asked.

"Y...yeah." Blaine smiled, knowing Kurt would love him to watch it. Kurt beamed and kissed Blaine fondly.

"I have to get going." He said, placing a hand on Blaine's cheek and creasing it gently, "Text me if you need anything."

"Thanks." Blaine said, leaning forward and kissing Kurt again. This one lasted a little longer. It wasn't hard and passionate, instead soft and gentle. They broke away reluctantly and Blaine watched Kurt leave. He sighed and laid back down on the bed. He listened as people moved around downstairs and marvelled in how comfortable the bed was. It was amazing. It felt like heaven. Everything smelt like Kurt and he wrapped the cover around himself, imagining he was being hugged by him.

The house grew quiet as people went to school and work, and Blaine felt himself drafting off again.

He jumped awake at about noon, shaking from the recent nightmare. He shook it off, and was surprised as he looked at his phone to see the time. He hadn't slept this late in ages. It felt nice, even if the sleep was ruined by the terror at the end. Blaine decided it was time to get up and ready.

Not showering at the school was amazing. He had warm, soft towels and he didn't have to worry about people walking in. The water was warmer and Kurt had shelves full of products to choose from. Blaine stepped out of the shower feeling cleaner then he had in ages.

So relaxed and clean, Blaine walked downstairs with caution. It was weird being in Kurt's house without him there. It just didn't feel right somehow.

Blaine went into the kitchen to get himself a glass of water and was surprised to see Carole in there. She smiled at him warmly from where she was standing at the counter, making a sandwich.

"I was wondering if you were still sleeping." She said, kindly, "Do you want some lunch?"

"I'm ok thank you." Blaine said, not feeling hungry, "I was thinking about meeting Kurt at school soon."

"Come on, you need to eat Dear." Carole said, sitting Blaine done at the kitchen table, "I'll make you a quick sandwich."

Blaine forced a smile; not really wanting any food but he didn't want to disappoint Carole. He was quiet as she made him a ham and lettuce sandwich and he thanked her politely. He felt that strange feeling again like he had when he had met Carole in Walmart last week. The nice feeling twinge with disappointment and sadness. He remembered sitting at the table in the kitchen at his house, talking with his mum while she made him lunch. They use to always talk away at lunch, until her life became consumed with alcohol and depression.

After the silent meal, in which Carole looked at Blaine with concern a lot, he washed his plate and said thank you to the mum. She just smiled, saying there was no need for thanks.

Not really knowing what to do, Blaine drove to the Lima Bean. He was meeting Kurt after school and thought he should greet him with a coffee. An hour later he was sitting in the auditorium waiting for the Glee kids to come in.

Puck and Lauren were the first ones in there and Puck greeted him with a grin on his face.

"Hey, it's my man Blaine." He smiled, sitting down next to him. Blaine found this quite strange as they had only spoken a few times before. The New Directions kids were known for being friendly though.

"Hey." Blaine smiled.

"You coming tonight?" Puck asked. He was talking about the party he was throwing for Kurt. Kurt had told Blaine about it earlier in the week and was really looking forward to it. Blaine not so much. He was still in the crawling in a dark hole and dying alone stage and didn't really want to be around a lot of people. He was tagging along though as it was a party for Kurt and he kind of had to go.

"Yeah." Blaine replied. Puck's grin grew, scaring Blaine slightly.

"Great." He said, "Me, Lauren and Santana were going to all chip in for some drink, wanna join us?"

"I thought you lot signed a contact with your teacher to not drink until after nationals?" Blaine asked, confused. Puck and Lauren laughed.

"We did." Lauren told him, "But Mr Schue also said that he knew it was unrealistic."

"And of course we're going to drink at a party." Puck said, "You were a lot of fun at Rachel's party, when you weren't smacking on Rach that is, so we thought that you might want a drink or two."

"Kurt told us how stressed out you've been, this is a chance to chill." Lauren told him. Blaine thought about this. He did also feel good when he was drinking. It would probably help him take his mind off things. He smiled at the two students and nodded.

"Ok, how much do you need?"

Both Puck and Lauren smiled.

"A tenner would do." Puck said, "It's only to get some sprits and beer."

Blaine fished around in his wallet and got out a ten dollar bill. He gave it to Puck.

"Kurt choice a good one." He said, taking it.

The rest of the New Directions came in then and Kurt bounced over to Blaine, smiling. Before Blaine could greet him, Kurt placed a kiss on his lips. Blaine kissed back, surprised but glad of the soft lips against his.

"How are you feeling?" Kurt asked, sitting down next to him.

"Better." Blaine lied. He didn't feel any different. A bit less numb but that was it. He gave Kurt the coffee, who squealed with thanks. Everyone was excited about the performance and also the party afterwards, meaning they were all chatting away.

"Does your teacher know you are having a party?" Blaine asked, turning to Kurt. He had been watching Mercedes and Tina dance around the stage. Kurt nodded, downing the rest of his coffee.

"It's all everyone's been talking about." He told Blaine, "He has Puck's house number so he can check up on us."

Blaine was impressed at how much the teacher cared about his students and also slightly surprised. It seemed a bit unusual to him, but that might be because all the teachers at Dalton were old fashioned and strict and none of his teachers at his old school gave a fuck about anyone.

Kurt gave him another kiss before joining everyone else up on the stage. Blaine sat there silently, watching as everyone joked around and chatted with each other. Within ten minutes the performance had begun and Kurt was standing at the front of the stage. Blaine smiled as he started to sing. Mercedes and Tina joined Kurt on stage and Blaine bit his lip as they opened Kurt's t-shirt to reveal his t-shirt.

Likes boys.

It was prefect and very sexy. Blaine admired Kurt's courage at wearing a t-shirt with such a bold statement. He was also very proud of Kurt. He couldn't believe how brave Kurt was. He wished he was that brave. Blaine was proud of who he was but his father had made him scared to be who he was in public.

Blaine kept biting his lip as he watched Kurt moved his hips and dance around the stage. He was extremely sexy the way he moved and the way he kept glancing over to Blaine and grinning.

The performance ended and Kurt came off the stage and came over to Blaine, smiling.

"What did you think?" Kurt asked, sitting next to him.

"What happened to baby penguin?" Blaine asked, smiling at Kurt as he beamed back. There was a small droplet of sweat on Kurt's forehead, making him look even sexier.

"I'm glad you liked it." He whispered in Blaine's ear, flicking Blaine's skin slightly with his tongue, teasing him. Blaine couldn't help but laugh at the act and took Kurt's hand.

"Like the shirt?" Kurt asked. Blaine leant towards him and caught his lips.

"I love it." He said, "I want one."

Kurt smiled, bouncing slightly on the chair. He was always on a high after he performance.

"My house, 6 o'clock." Puck called out to the group as people started to leave the auditorium.

"Behave yourselves." Mr Schuester told everyone, "Call me if anyone gets into any trouble."

"Why don't you join us Mr Schue?" Finn laughed, jumping off the stage. Everyone in the glee club laughed, as the teacher raised an eyebrow. He waved them out before leaving via the side of the stage.

"Come on." Kurt smiled, "Let's go get ready."

Blaine lied to Kurt and said that he had picked up a change of clothes at home, so when he went to get some clean clothes out of his car it didn't look weird. He got dressed in dark blue skinny jeans, a red v neck and black converse. He stayed quiet while he waited in the living room with Finn for Kurt to get ready.

When he finally came downstairs, he took Blaine's breath away. This was nothing new though. Kurt always managed to take his breath away. Just his presence did it. Kurt was wearing skin tight black jeans, which hugged his bum and hips perfectly and was wearing a tight white t-shirt and had braces on, along with a slick black skinny tie. He sat down next to Blaine, pulling on white boots.

"Ready to party?" He asked, smiling at the two boys.

They travelled to Puck's house in Kurt's car. Puck's mum and sister had gone to his aunt's for the weekend so the house was empty. He was just using Kurt coming back to McKinley as an excuse to throw a party. Not like Puck needed an excuse.

The house was already packed with the New Directions kids and Kurt ran in to greet everyone with smiles. It was a different atmosphere then when they arrived at Rachel's party. People were already laughing and chatting away. Most people were in the living room, but Blaine found himself being pulled to the kitchen by Lauren nearly as soon as Kurt left his side.

"We got everything we needed." She told him, showing him a shopping bag that contained a bottle of vodka, some tequila, apple sourz, Hawaii punch and a six pack of beers.

"How did you get all this?" Blaine asked, impressed with the amount.

"Fake id, bro." Puck said, coming in to the kitchen.

"Our plan is to spike our own coke or punch with vodka at first." Lauren told him, "Then when everyone is too engaged with each other to notice our absence, we are going to sneak to the garden and go crazy."

"By the time people notice we are missing, we will be too wasted to care about Mr Schue's contract." Puck laughed. Blaine nodded, liking the sound of the wasted part. Lauren got some plastic cups and poured some coke into them. She then poured a generous amount of vodka in each one.

"Cheers." Puck grinned, knocking his cup against Blaine's and Lauren's.

_Here's to forgetting everything_, Blaine thought, taking a gulp of the drink. He could taste the undertones of vodka within the sweetness of the coke.

Santana came into the room at that point, looking like thunder. She looked very pissed off and upset.

"Puck, drink, now." She growled. Puck began to pour the coke, but Santana grabbed the vodka and took a swig of it. Blaine wondered what was wrong, but didn't ask.

"So are you joining us with the drinking, Hobbit?" She asked. Blaine raised his eyebrows, not really liking the nickname but accepting it.

"Of course he is." Puck grinned, putting an arm round his shoulders. Santana nodded, pouring vodka into her drink.

"What's wrong, Santana?" Puck asked, also noticing how much she pouring into the drink.

"I haven't drunk in weeks." She told him, "Stupid Mr Schue."

Kurt came into the kitchen then with Mercedes. They had their arms round each other and smiling. Lauren stood in front of the bag, hiding the drink.

"Hey sweetie." Kurt smiled, breaking away from Mercedes and wrapping his arm around Blaine's waist. He smiled at Blaine before taking his drink and taking a sip. His eyebrows rose as he tasted it.

"Chill Hummel." Puck said, "We're just having a few drinks."

Blaine bit his lip as he felt Kurt's eyes on him. He didn't want Kurt to disapprove.

"Wanna join?" Lauren asked, holding out a cup. Kurt heisted.

"Come on, you didn't even sign the contract." Puck laughed.

"I'll drive." Finn said. Most people had gathered in the kitchen now and had heard the conversation. Kurt smiled and took the cup, sipping it gingerly. Everyone around the room cheered, never seeing Kurt drink before. Most of them knew about his little incident in his sophomore year, Mercedes, Tina and Finn had looked after him until his dad got there, but none of them had actually seen him drink.

Nearly everyone had something to drink in the first hour. They all sat in the living room, chatting and laughing together. No one, part from Puck, Lauren, Blaine and Santana, actually wanted to get drunk, so the four teenagers didn't drink again for a little while, even though Blaine noticed Puck and Santana kept sneaking into the kitchen. He knew they were taking swigs of the sprits.

Another hour passed and music was buzzing and people were dancing and singing. Kurt was engrossed in conversation with everyone, with Blaine just sitting on the couch. He had been struggling to speak to people, only making polite chatter. He had been nursing his cup, watching his boyfriend enjoying himself. It didn't make him feel upset; he was happy for Kurt and was glad that he was enjoying himself. Kurt really did look happy.

Blaine noticed Puck, Santana and Lauren leave a little while later, with Puck indicating to Blaine with his head to go to the kitchen. No one seemed to notice as Blaine stood up and followed them.

Lauren grinned as she grabbed the bottles of alcohol and Puck grabbed the beer.

"Come on Warbler." He said, heading outside. Out in the garden they sat round a garden table and Puck handed out shot glasses. He poured each person a shot of apple sourz and they downed it together.

"Drinking game." Santana said, already sounding slightly tipsy, making Blaine wonder how much she had already drunk.

"Have you ever." Puck smiled, giving everyone a shot of sourz again.

"Hobbit you go first." Santana grinned.

"Eh..." Blaine thought, caught off guard. He held his shot glass, twirling it around in his fingers.

"I have never... drunk sourz." As this was a lie, Blaine downed his shot, along with his three companions. Lauren grinned, shaking her head disapprovingly at the easy suggestion.

"I've never kissed a girl." Puck grinned. Again everyone drunk. Santana, Puck and Blaine looked at Lauren.

"Summer camp." She offered as an answer.

"I've never kissed a boy." Santana grinned. Everyone drunk.

"What?" Santana laughed at Puck.

"It was just an experiment." Puck grinned, "I'm not gay though, just open."

After having 4 shots Blaine was already feeling relaxed and slightly more cheerful. He sat back in his seat, laughing as Lauren asked about shop lifting and Puck and Santana drunk, and Puck went on a massive rant that he was unfairly accessed. Everyone seemed to be doing easy ones, or ones they know someone else had to do, so everyone was drinking quite a bit.

"I've never had sex!" Santana yelled, holding her shot glass up and giggling. She downed it, along with Puck and Lauren. Blaine didn't though and as a result got shocked looks from the three other teenagers.

"You and Hummel haven't done the dirty yet?" Puck asked, clearly surprised. Blaine shrugged as Santana put an arm round his shoulders.

"That is why you are so uptight, you need to get fucked!" She told him. Blaine blushed at her bluntness and bowed his head in embarrassment.

"Forget Blaine, Kurt needs to get laid." Puck said, refilling their glasses. They had now run out of sourz.

"We're just waiting for the right moment." Blaine told them.

"Better not do it tonight then." Lauren laughed, "Won't be very romantic with you sloshed out of your mind."

"I'm not drunk." Blaine protested, looking up.

"Defiantly heading that way Warbler." Lauren said. Santana, who still had her arm around Blaine's shoulder, kissed him on the cheek and leant her head on his shoulder. Blaine decided that she was definitely drunk.

As they ran out of sourz, they changed the sprit along with the game. They got the tequila and tried to think of inventive ways to lick the salt and suck the lime. This included licking the salt off Santana's neck and Puck's forehead, and biting the lime off Blaine's curls which held it perfectly.

By now Blaine felt pleasantly numb and everything that was happening seemed to be going on in a blur. He laughed as Lauren fished around in his curls, unable to concentrate in her drunken state and without her glasses which had been stolen by Puck again, and also as Santana licked the salt off his hand, doing so in a very flirty manner.

However the good, cheerful, hyper mood changed quite quickly. Puck and Lauren had gone off somewhere, probably to make out, leaving him and Santana alone. They had been chatting when both their moods went south.

Blaine started to think about his dad and how he could possible move back in somehow. He was fed up of his car. Santana had gone quiet, fiddling with her jacket. Blaine had never seen her this quiet before. It was strange.

"Want a cigar?" She asked suddenly, getting a small tin box out of her pocket. Blaine shook his head but watched as Santana lit a small cigar and took a puff. She blew out a thick cloud of smoke and then held it out for Blaine. He hesitated, but curiosity got the better of him and he took it. He placed the small, brown stick in-between his lips and inhaled. Smoke filled his mouth and throat and he chocked. He handed it back, coughing and holding his chest.

Santana chuckled, putting the cigar to her lips again. They sat in silence for a little while as Santana took slow drags from her cigar. Blaine watched the Latina girl, a question bubbling in his stomach.

"I know about you and Karofsky." He said. Santana grinned, raising a slick eyebrow and throwing the butt of her cigar down, stomping it out.

"And what do you know about?" She asked.

"I know about you... your arrangement." Blaine told her, "I know about Karofsky and I know about you." He was saying this all slowly, not wanting to slur and also unsure about how she was going to react.

"I see the way you look at Brittany." Blaine said. Santana, who had token the vodka outside earlier, took a swig of it.

"And how is that?" She asked.

"With love." Blaine said simply. Santana looked like she was going to get angry with him but her face softened and she started to cry.

"Hey, hey." Blaine said, starting to panic. He hadn't wanted to make her cry. He put a hand on her arm and she moved closer to him, suddenly sitting in his lap and crying in to his neck. Blaine was very surprised by this and rubbed her back nervously.

"Am I that obvious?" She asked, looking up at Blaine. Her make had smudged and Blaine wiped under her eye, removing some of the eyeliner that had started to trial down her face along with her tears.

"You forget I am gay, right?" He asked, a sad smile on his face, "I have great gayder."

Santana nodded, sniffing. Blaine briefly remembered Kurt telling him that Santana was a weepy drunk, probably because when she was sober she tried to be strong willed and feisty. Alcohol let her break her barriers down.

"I'll be your beard." Blaine suddenly said, catching both him and Santana off guard. She looked at him, a frown on her face.

"Your beard?" She asked. Blaine nodded, the question now making sense to him. It was perfect.

"Yeah, I mean, I am so much better looking than Karofsky." He grinned, "I can be your arm candy."

Santana laughed, shaking her head and putting her head on his shoulder. He kept rubbing her back.

"Why would you want to do that?" She asked, trailing circles on his shirt. They were really close that they were practically breathing the same air. However, Blaine didn't feel any kind of sexual attraction to her. She was pretty and had a stunning body, and she smelt nice, but she wasn't what Blaine wanted.

"I need to be straight." He whispered. Santana leant her head up, looking at him. He looked away, biting his lip.

"Why?" She asked. She sounded like a curious child; all innocent like.

"Because that is the only way my Dad will let me back home." He said. Santana sat up and looked at him, frowning.

"What?" She asked. Blaine sighed.

"He kicked me out because I'm gay." He told her, "But I need to go home because I need to look after my little sister."

"So you're thinking of dumping Kurt?" Santana asked, looking at him intently. He bit his lip, tears rising in his throat.

"I don't know." He chocked, "It might be the only way."

Santana stood up then, stumbling off his lap. She held out her hand, indicating for Blaine to take it. She dragged him up and he realised how drunk he was then. The movement made his hand spin and his stomach turn. He was very unstable on his legs as Santana lead him back into the house. She was just as bad and Blaine had to marvel at how neither of them fell over.

They stopped at the doorway to the living room, where most of the New Directions members were. They were playing singstar and Brittany and Kurt were singing together, standing up in the middle of the room and holding the microphone between them. They were singing 'I want to dance with somebody' together and everyone was laughing and singing along. Blaine looked at Kurt, whose eyes were shiny with happiness and his smile was just breathtaking.

"Do you really want to give him up because your dick of a Father?" Santana asked, still holding his hand. Blaine bit his lip and shook his head.

No, he didn't want to give Kurt up for anything.

"I...I'm going to go to the bathroom." Blaine said, feeling sick, "I...I think I'm going to throw up."

Santana nodded, pointing to the stairs. He rushed up them, hanging onto the rails so not to fall. Santana watched him go, before turning back to the living room in time to see the song end and Brittany jump up and down in excitement. She rushed over to Artie, laughing and sitting on his lap, kissing him. Santana looked away, tears stinging her eyes again.

"Are you ok?" Kurt asked, coming over to her. He noticed the tear tracks down her cheeks. She nodded, wiping underneath her eyes. Kurt smiled at her, rubbing her shoulder.

"Where's Blaine? I heard he was outside with you." He asked, looking around, expecting to see his boyfriend pop up somewhere.

"He's upstairs in the bathroom." Santana told him, "I think he drank too much."

"How much did you lot give him?" Kurt asked, concerned.

"You know us." She smiled. Kurt sighed, heading up the stairs after Blaine. He got to the bathroom door and could hear the clear sounds of someone throwing up.

"Blaine?" Kurt asked, knocking on the door, "Sweeties, it's me, open the door."

"It's open." He heard Blaine mumble. Kurt opened the door slowly, and went in. The unpleasant smell of vomit greeted him. Blaine was sitting on the floor, sweating and pale. He was clutching his shirt tightly with his hand, his face screwed up in pain. Kurt rushed over to him, kneeling down and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you ok?" Kurt asked.

"I...I'm sorry." Blaine said, sounding out of breath and in pain.

"What's wrong?" Kurt asked, noticing that Blaine was starting to hyperventilate. He was having another panic attack. He shook his head, closing his eyes and struggling to breathe.

"Hey, it's ok." Kurt told him, his voice low and soft, "Calm down Sweetie." He put a hand under Blaine's chin and raised his head so their eyes connected. Blaine's eyes were wet with tears and bloodshot and tired.

"I'm here." Kurt told him, smiling slightly to calm him, "I'm going to look after you."

A sob escaped Blaine's mouth and tears began to roll down his cheeks. Kurt, surprised, moved closer to him and wrapt an arm around his shoulder and hugged him.

"Calm down, Blaine." Kurt mumbled against his ear, stroking his hair, "Just breathe, ok."

Blaine nodded, clutching Kurt's arm with his hand tightly and leaning against him. He closed his eyes and listened to Kurt's heart beat, trying to get his breathing under control. His chest was on fire from where he had thrown up and he felt really vulnerable. Kurt rocked him until he was able to breathe normally again, even though he was still crying softly. Tears were silently making their way down his face.

"What's wrong Baby?" Kurt asked once he had calmed down.

"I'm a massive fuck up." Blaine mumbled, the alcohol making his tongue loose. Kurt had never heard Blaine swear before so was surprised at the statement.

"No you're not." Kurt told him. Blaine bit his lip, nodded hard against Kurt's shoulder.

"I am so pathetic and stupid." He told Kurt, his heart finally telling him how he felt, "I can't do anything right."

"Blaine, you're not." Kurt said firmly, looking down at him and kissing his forehead. Blaine closed his eyes at the touch, tears growing heavier.

"You don't know some stuff about me." He mumbled, sitting up and backing away from Kurt. Kurt watched him, frowning with concern.

"You can tell me anything Blaine." He told him. Blaine held his head his hands, shaking it and breathing heavily.

"I can't." He said, "I'm so pathetic, you...you wouldn't like me if you knew."

Kurt scooted closer to him, holding his arms gently and taking his hands away from his face.

"Nothing you tell me will make me not like you, Blaine." Kurt told him quietly. Blaine looked up into the blue eyes. Kurt looked sincere and worried.

"I...I..." Blaine started nervously, "I live in my car."

A wave of relief flew over Blaine and he closed his eyes. He had said it. He had told Kurt, but he didn't want to see the expression on Kurt's face.

"Why?" Kurt asked. He was taken aback and didn't really know what Blaine meant. Blaine bit his lip, looking down.

"My...my Dad kicked me out." His voice cracked and refreshed tears rolled down his cheeks. Kurt was shocked but moved closer to Blaine, hugging him tightly. Blaine bowed his head and leant it against Kurt's chest, shaking with tears.

"When did this happen?" Kurt asked, struggling not cry himself as he watched Blaine broke down in front of him.

"When I got these injuries." Blaine cried, burying his face deeper into Kurt's shirt. Kurt froze for a minute, realisation coming to him. He felt cold and he couldn't speak for a moment as a cry was trapped in his throat.

"Blaine." He said, looking down at the crying boy. Blaine didn't move, part from the sobs shaking his small body.

"Blaine, how did you get the injuries?" Kurt asked. Blaine still didn't respond so Kurt placed a hand on his chin and gently moved his face so Blaine had to look at him.

"How did you get the injuries?" He asked again. Blaine's eyes were full of sorrow and reject as he answered.

"My Dad." He mumbled, a lot of pure defeat on his face.

"How...how long?" Kurt asked, a bare whisper. He needed to know how long Blaine had been suffering.

"Since my Mum left." Blaine mumbled. Kurt shook his head and wiped Blaine's cheek with his thumb. Blaine's eyes looked so empty.

"You got these injuries nearly three weeks ago, why didn't you tell me?" Kurt asked. Blaine looked back down, mumbling something about 'pathetic' and 'hate me'.

"Why would I hate you?" Kurt asked, rubbing Blaine's back. Blaine didn't respond, as he started to cry harder. He felt stupid and weak. Why did he have to go and tell Kurt? And Santana and Sam? No one needed to know how much he life fails.

Kurt rubbed his back, and stroked his hair, trying to comfort him. The alcohol had made all his emotions so much more heightened and Blaine couldn't stop crying.

"I failed the exam." Blaine cried, "I screwed up my future."

"You don't know-" Kurt started but Blaine shook his head.

"I fell asleep." He said, angrily, "I didn't even finish one section of it."

"It doesn't matter, Sweetie." Kurt mumbled against his ear, "There are other options."

Blaine shook his head roughly against him, refusing to believe anything.

"Come on, let's get you home." Kurt said, realising that in his drunken state, Blaine was going to be unable to accept anything he says. A better comfort would probably be going to back to somewhere quiet and friendly, having some water and going to sleep. They would be able to speak about it in the morning.

Blaine didn't make an effect to move though, and stayed sitting against Kurt, his head rested against Kurt's chest, his hands gripping Kurt's arms that were wrapped around him. Kurt rocked him gently, waiting for Blaine to calm down. He was truly shocked at everything that Blaine had told him and was holding back the tears that were trying to push their way through. He couldn't believe that Blaine had not told him any of this. Kurt had known that something was wrong but he never dreamt it was this bad.

About twenty minutes later, Finn knocked on the door.

"Are you ok?" He asked, coming in and looking at them. Kurt nodded, still holding Blaine.

"Could you drive us home?" Kurt asked. Finn nodded, deciding not to ask any questions. Kurt helped Blaine up, who was unsteady on his feet. He leant heavily on Kurt, not wanting to separate from him.

"I've got you." Kurt whispered to Blaine as they walked downstairs. Finn told everyone that they were leaving as Kurt walked to the car with Blaine. He helped him into the back of Finn's car. Blaine didn't speak as he curled up to Kurt's side. His tears had stopped and he looked blankly in front of him, not speaking, not moving. Kurt began to sing softly to him 'I see the light' from Tangled. Blaine closed his eyes, listening intently. It was the most calming thing Kurt had done yet and Blaine began to fall asleep listening to him.

Kurt leant his cheek against Blaine's head, holding him tight. He felt very shaken up. He couldn't believe what Blaine was going through and he didn't understand why Blaine hadn't told him.

_Doesn't he trust me_, Kurt thought sadly.

Finn pulled up outside their house and Kurt pushed these thoughts out of his head as Blaine woke up, looking around. He seemed confused as he realised he was in a car.

"Come on, let's get you inside." Kurt said gently, getting out of the car. Blaine nodded, taking Kurt's outstretched hand and struggling out of the car. Kurt wrapped an arm around his waist, bringing him close to him, and helped him up the path where Burt greeted them in a dressing grown and holding a mug of hot chocolate. He was obviously on his way to bed.

"You're back early." He said, frowning in concern as Kurt lead Blaine to the sofa and sat him down.

"I'm going to get you some water." Kurt told him, before kissing his forehead and walking to the kitchen with his dad following him. Finn sat down next to Blaine and placed a hand on his shoulder; an attempt to comfort him.

"Is he drunk?" Burt asked. Kurt nodded, his lips pressed together tightly. His hands were shaking as he got a glass out of the cupboard.

"Are you ok?" Burt asked, noticing the tears in Kurt eyes and the quiver of his lip. Kurt nodded, placing the glass down on the counter and leaning his hands on the side, bowing his head.

"Kurt, what's wrong?" Burt asked firmly, placing a hand on his shoulder. Kurt turned around, his eyes red from unshed tears.

"It was his Dad." He told Burt, "His Dad hurt him."

Tears escaped and ran down his cheeks. Burt looked shocked and disgusted. Kurt bowed his head and covered his eyes with the palm of his hands. Burt stepped forward and put his arms round Kurt's shoulders. Kurt cried into his chest, trying to control his tears.

He shouldn't be crying; he had to be out there looking after Blaine.

After a short moment of allowing his dad to comfort him, Kurt moved back, wiping his eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Blaine...Blaine's Dad kicked him out." Kurt told Burt. Kurt could see the anger boiling in his Dad's eyes but Burt stayed calm.

"He can stay here." He told Kurt. Kurt wiped the reminder of the tears away and managed a small smile.

"Thanks, I'll sleep down here."

Burt shook his head.

"Blaine needs you tonight." He told Kurt, "Just don't do anything else but sleep."

Kurt nodded, turning around and filling the glass, trying to compose himself. He went back into the living room where Blaine was curled up on the sofa, his head resting on a very awkward Finn's arm.

"We'll need to phone the Police." Burt told Kurt, meaning in the morning. Blaine's head snapped up then and his eyes became alert.

"No!" He cried out, standing up and rushing over to Burt. He grabbed the phone which was on a table next to Burt so he couldn't reach it.

"Please don't call the Police." Blaine begged, his other hand reaching up to clutch Burt's dressing grown. There was a look of desperation in Blaine's eyes and he looked like he was going to have another panic attack.

Burt looked shocked and Kurt put a hand on Blaine's shoulder.

"You can't call them, you can't." Blaine cried, "They'll take Amber away."

Kurt took hold of Blaine's hand as he started to cry.

"It's ok Blaine." Kurt said softly, peeling Blaine's hands away from his dad and spinning him around so they were facing each other. His eyes were full of fear and wet with tears.

"They'll take her away again." Blaine cried, burying his head into Kurt's neck.

"We won't call the Police." Kurt told him, holding him close as he sobbed.

"They'll take her."

"No one is taking Amber." Kurt told him, looking at his dad. Burt's eyes were wide with shock at the reaction. Finn was still sitting on the sofa watching the scene and was unsure what to do.

"Let's get you to bed Baby." Kurt mumbled into Blaine's ear, rubbing his back slowly, "We'll talk about this is in the morning." He took the phone off Blaine and placed it back on the cradle.

"Please." Blaine begged, clutching Kurt's t-shirt tightly and crying into his neck.

"We won't." Kurt told him, before gently leading him towards the stairs.

"You need to sleep Sweetie." Kurt said calmly, "Everything will be clearer in the morning."

Kurt managed to get Blaine upstairs and into his bedroom. Finn followed with the glass of water, placing it on the bedside table as Kurt gently sat Blaine down on the bed and took off his shoes.

"Thanks." Kurt mumbled to Finn as he left looking worried and shut the door.

"I'm sorry." Blaine whispered, tears still rolling down his cheeks.

"What for?" Kurt asked, pulling Blaine's legs up so he was lying on the bed.

"I ruined your party." Blaine told him. Kurt sat down next to him and lent down to kiss his tears away.

"No you didn't." Kurt reassured him.

"I did." Blaine said, "I don't mean to be so pathetic, I'm sorry."

"Shh." Kurt tried to smooth him, "Don't be silly, you're not pathetic, you're perfect."

Blaine shook his head, his eyes lowered so he wasn't looking at Kurt. Kurt loosed his tie and grabbed his night clothes.

"I'll be back in a second, Sweetie." He told Blaine, kissing his forehead, before running into the bathroom. He got changed in a heartbeat, not thinking about putting his clothes in the hamper or doing his night skin treatment. He just wanted to be back with Blaine.

Kurt went back to the room and curled into the bed next to Blaine, who was still silently crying.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled again as Kurt laid down facing him. Kurt ran his thumb under Blaine's eyes, wiping away some of the tears.

"There's nothing you need to be sorry about." Kurt told him. Blaine reached up and clutched Kurt's arm, keeping his hand against Blaine's cheek. It wasn't a tight grip but Kurt could feel the desperation in the hold.

"I... I've been thinking about breaking up with you." Blaine admitted. Kurt felt his stomach drop and heart twist. He was unable to speak for a moment. Blaine couldn't look at him, and more tears leaked from his eyes at the confession.

"W... Why?" Kurt asked. Blaine let out a sob and moved closer so his head was against Kurt's chest.

"I thought if I had a girlfriend my Dad would let me live back at home." Blaine told him, shaking violently with sobs, "I thought it would be better that way."

He moved closer to Kurt, clutching Kurt's t-shirt in tight fists.

"I'm sorry." Blaine cried, "I don't want to leave you, I just thought it was the only way to look after Amber."

Kurt held Blaine close to him, rubbing circles in his back to comfort the crying boy. Seeing Blaine in this much pain and anguish was causing Kurt's heart to break. He couldn't believe he hadn't realised that Blaine was this deeply hurt. He felt guilty that it had taken alcohol for Blaine to open up to him.

"It's ok, I understand." Kurt whispered in his ear, "We'll make sure Amber is ok, you just need to sleep for now."

They laid there for a while with Kurt holding Blaine and whispering quietly in his ear. Blaine slowly calmed down, reducing himself to a hiccupping state.

"You won't leave me, will you?" Blaine asked, his voice cracked and broken from the crying he had done. Kurt leant down and kissed his forehead tenderly.

"I'll be here when you wake up." He promised. Blaine settled down in Kurt's arm and fell into a peaceful sleep.

Blaine woke the next morning slowly. His head hurt and his ribs were screaming at him. He also felt very sick and his throat was hurting. He realised though that he hadn't woke up screaming and thrashing about and it took him a second or two to work out why.

But then a body shifted next to him and he felt arms tighten around him. He could smell Kurt's scent and he couldn't help but smile as he realised that he was lying in bed with the boy he loved.

However, the happiness was only short lived as he remembered the events of last night. He felt his skin crawl in embarrassment and he was nervous. He knew that today was going to be a long day and he would spend the majority of it explaining his situation and Kurt would finally realise how weak he was.

Blaine opened his eyes, frowning in the morning light. His frown soon disappeared as he saw Kurt, who was still asleep. The morning light highlighted his pale skin and his soft eyelashes. Blaine could see the few freckles that dotted Kurt's skin. He counted them. There were four; two on his nose, one on his left cheek and one just under his lip. His lips were parted just slightly and Blaine could feel his breath on his cheek, tickling the skin just slightly. His hair was messy and loose from last night's hold. The sun coming through the curtains made a few strands shine and they seemed to glow under the light.

If it wasn't for the nauseous that Blaine was feeling he would want this moment to last forever. It was such a perfect moment and he just wanted to lie next to Kurt forever.

However, his stomach had other ideas as he felt it groan in warning. Blaine sat up, waking Kurt, and rushed to the bathroom. The moment was spoiled as he empty his already empty stomach into the toilet. He groaned, sitting down on the floor and leaning against the bath tub. He felt very sick.

"Are you ok?" Kurt asked, coming into the bathroom holding the glass of water. He handed it to Blaine, who drank it in large gulps. The cool liquid ran down his throat, washing away the bile and gross taste.

"My head hurts." Blaine groaned, leaning his head back against the edge of the tub. Kurt sat down on the floor next to him, resting a hand on his leg.

"I think I need to talk to Santana and Puck about giving you alcohol." Kurt said, jokingly. Blaine nodded.

"Yeah, I think I said why too much last night." He said seriously. He was looking away from Kurt so didn't see his shocked look.

"Blaine, the things you told me last night were very serious."

Blaine looked to Kurt and saw his sad and slightly hurt look. He took a tired sigh.

"I didn't want you to know about them things." Blaine told him, "I didn't want you to know how weak I am."

Kurt took Blaine's hand and kissed his knuckles.

"I would never think you were weak."

"All I do is run." Blaine said, "I ran from the bullies, I ran from my Dad and I tried to run from my sexuality."

He felt tears whelm up in his eyes but he held them back, deciding he cried enough last night. Kurt moved closer to Blaine, so he was leaning against the bath tub as well. Blaine took this as an invitation and leant his head against Kurt's shoulder. Their fingers became intertwined as Kurt leant his cheek on Blaine's head.

"I think you're very brave." Kurt told him seriously. Blaine didn't say anything but he felt an overwhelming sense of love as Kurt spoke these words. He was so grateful for Kurt.

They stayed like for a while. Silently sitting there with their skin touching and their breathing becoming in synch. It was comforting and felt so normal.

"I didn't get the full story last night." Kurt finally said. Blaine swallowed nervously, knowing that this was coming.

"Do you want to eat first?" Kurt asked gently, sensing Blaine's nervousness. Blaine nodded, wanting to postpone the story telling for a while longer. He knew Kurt and his father would need to know eventually, but he wanted to put it off. It was painfully just thinking about it. He knew telling people will be worse.

But Kurt deserved to know.

Blaine noticed the tension that was in the house and he and Kurt went downstairs. Carole greeted them with a warm but sad smile and Finn, who was sitting at the table eating a bacon sandwich, looked at Blaine nervously, not knowing how to act. Burt was reading the paper at the table and said good morning to them. Blaine noticed that there was a trace of what looked like anger in his eyes. Blaine hoped it wasn't directed at him as Kurt led him to a chair and sat him down.

Carole served them a bacon sandwich each and Blaine ate it slowly, still feeling nauseous but knowing that the bread and greasy bacon will help with the hangover.

Once they had finished, Finn left to see Puck and Carole went down to the basement to do some washing. This just left Blaine, Kurt and Burt. Blaine shivered, feeling really cold and rubbed his hands up and down his arms.

"Let's go to the living room." Burt said. Kurt nodded and Blaine allowed himself to be led to the sofa. Kurt wrapped a blanket around him so Blaine was warm and then sat down next to him. Blaine moved closer, wanting to feel his warmth.

Burt sat in his armchair and looked at Blaine with concerned eyes. Kurt laced their fingers together and placed his other hand on his leg in a comforting gesture. There was a tense silence for a moment before Burt began to talk.

"I know that this is going to be difficult to talk about but we need to know what happened, Blaine, so we can help you."

Blaine sighed sadly and began his story.

"My Dad found a picture of me and Kurt together and wasn't happy and we had an argument, he threw a couple of fists and then threw me out of the house."

Kurt felt a wave of guilt come over him as he heard that. It was his fault that Blaine got in a row with his dad.

"I'm sorry." Kurt said, feeling bad.

"It wasn't your fault." Blaine said, "He's done worse over less."

"Like what?" Burt asked shocked. Blaine bit his lip, regretting saying that.

"Last year we got in a row about Dalton because I spent more of my time there instead of at home." He started to explain, "He shoved me and I hit my head on the edge of the coffee table." He felt Kurt wince beside him and Blaine just felt sick remembering it. Kurt gave his hand a squeeze and Blaine continued.

"I was knocked unconscious and Amber called an ambulance. I had to stay in hospital for two nights with concession. It was right before the exam so it really affected my grade."

There was a stunned silence from Burt and Kurt. Kurt had gone white as he imagined Blaine lying on the floor unconscious and bleeding and his little sister having to deal with it. He felt so sorry for both of them.

"So where have you been staying?" Burt asked.

"My car mostly." Blaine answered, "I spent a few nights at Dalton and a night at work."

Kurt felt tears in his eyes as Blaine said this. He still didn't understand why Blaine hadn't told him.

"Well, you can stay here for as long as you want." Burt told Blaine. Blaine felt tears in his eyes again. He was very grateful and touched by this offer.

"We'll sort out the spare room and you can sleep in there." The adult continued, "But we do have to discuss about calling the Police."

Blaine shook his head, panic now rising in him.

"You can't."

"Blaine, what your Dad did is very serious, we can't let him get away with it." Burt told him gently.

"You can't; they'll take Amber away." Blaine told him, his eyes pleading with the concerned adult.

"Who will?" Kurt asked him gently, looking at him. Blaine turned to him and Kurt could see the panic in his hazel eyes.

"The Social Services." Blaine said, "I won't see her again, we were split up before."

"You were in care before?" Burt asked. Blaine nodded, surprising Kurt. He had never heard of this before. He was starting to realise that he didn't know a lot about Blaine.

"When I was 8." Blaine told them, "I don't know all the details about why but from what I heard from conversations the social services were contacted by my teacher because I got in the middle of one of my parents' fights and ended up getting hit by a plate that my Dad threw at my Mum so I had a massive bruise on my face."

Both the Hummels listened silently and Kurt slowly rubbed Blaine's hand with his thumb, hoping it would offer some sort of comfort to the distressed boy.

"So they rang up my parents and told them that they were coming for a visit to check up on things and this lead to another row with my parents. The neighbours heard the noise and called the Police. My Dad was taken to jail for the night because he was drunk and disorderly and my Mum had hurt her arm in the fight so was taken to the hospital."

Blaine shivered as he remembered the next part. The part that still gave him nightmares.

"The Police woke us up in the middle of the night and took us into care. Amber was placed in a foster home and I was put in a children's home." He shivered and moved closer to Kurt unconsciously.

"We were in care for about two weeks while my parents were assessed. We didn't see each other for the entire time even though I asked every day. I begged to see Amber but they didn't take me." A sob escaped his mouth at the point and Kurt moved his arm so he was hugging Blaine. He leant against Kurt and hid his face in the blanket as he cried silently. He was shaking now, having relived the memory.

Kurt and Burt didn't say anything as Blaine tried to calm down. He felt so vulnerable crying in front of them; especially Burt. Blaine was always taught that crying was a sign of weakness and that boys shouldn't cry. He hoped that Burt didn't think he was weak.

"When we got home Amber wouldn't leave my side." Blaine continued once he had calmed down enough to talk, "She wouldn't even go near Mum and Dad so I had to look after her until she would, she was terrified of any adults and we never found out why but I remember seeing bruises on her arms when I bathed her, like she had been grabbed too hard or something."

Blaine looked up and locked eyes with Burt.

"If you call the Police they will take her away and they could put her anywhere." Blaine said, "And I might not be able to see her again or at least for a long time."

"But what about your Dad, isn't she in danger of him." Kurt asked. Blaine took a shaky deep breath before answering.

"He has never laid a finger on her before." He told them, "We think it's because she looks like his sister who died in a car crash when she went to college; they were really close. I don't think he will do anything and at least there I know where she is and who she is with, and it's only for another year hopefully."

"Why a year?" Burt asked. Blaine looked away from Kurt as he replied. He didn't want to see his face as he said this.

"When I'm 18 I can adopt her, so as soon as my birthday comes around I'm going to drop out of school, work full time and get an apartment so she can live with me."

"What? You can't do that, what about your education?" Kurt asked shocked.

"Amber is more important, I need to know she is safe." Blaine told him, "And besides, once I have enough money I can go back into education and get my High School diploma and go to community college."

"Isn't there any other option?" Kurt asked. Blaine shrugged, thinking hard. He knew that he was very unlikely that he would actually be allowed to adopt Amber because of the strict laws. The only way he would be able to it would be to prove that their Father was unable to do it; which his alcoholism could help with. Other options seemed even more unlikely though.

"I could try and find my Mum and see if she will report my Dad with me so he can go to jail, and then hopefully she will feel safe enough to come home." Blaine said sourly. He didn't like this option because it involved talking to his mother. He didn't want to receive help from the person that abounded them but it might be the only option.

"Ok." Burt said, sitting forward on his seat and looking directly at Blaine. He held the eye contact and looked very serious.

"This is what I'm going to suggest." Burt started, "Start looking for your Mother and see if she will come home, I will talk to her if necessary, but if you don't get hold of her in a month, Amber can come and live here and we will see if we can adopt her, we can't have her living in that house when your Father is obviously dangerous."

Blaine's mouth opened a little bit in shock as he looked at Burt. The man looked very serious and genuine.

"I...I can't ask that of you." Blaine said, his eyes welling up again and tears catching in his throat.

"You did ask, I am offering, I would never leave a child in danger." Burt told him, "And you're too smart to not go to college and do the best you can."

Blaine didn't know how to feel. He didn't realise that kindness like this existed. He couldn't believe that Burt was open to open his home up to not just him but Amber as well. Blaine had always wanted Amber to feel the family feeling he got when he came round here and when she went round to her friend's house. He had always wanted to give that to her, and here was Burt offering to them. It was so welcoming and beautiful.

"Th... Thank you." Blaine said, his voice shaky as new tears made their way down his cheeks. All Burt did was smile and give him a nod before getting up and walking over to place a firm but kind hand on his shoulder. Blaine didn't flinch at the touch as he would normally did, but smiled weakly back, unable to say anymore.

The rest of the day went past slowly. Burt got started on sorting out the spare room which still had quite a few boxes in there from the move. Finn, Kurt and Carole helped and Blaine attempted to help but Kurt kept telling him off.

"You should just rest." Kurt kept telling him, pushing him onto the bed in his room and handing Blaine the remote for the TV.

"But you're all working for my benefit." Blaine protested.

"That's not true." Kurt reassured him, going through a box he had just got from the spare room, "We would have to do this eventually."

Blaine watched as Kurt got some books out of the box and put them on his bookshelf. They hadn't really spoken since last night and he could barely remember that conversation. It was all a bit blurry. He hoped he hadn't made too much of a fool of himself. He was glad Kurt knew and he was touched about everything his family was doing for him and he was regretting not telling them sooner. Kurt seemed to be quite understanding about it but Blaine did want to have some alone time with him just to confirm that.

"So where am I sleeping tonight?" Blaine asked, moving so he was sitting next to Kurt.

"Well, the spare room won't be ready yet, we still need to paint it and build the bed and stuff." Kurt said, organising his books, "So in here."

"Does that mean I get to sleep with you again?" Blaine smiled. Kurt was looking away so didn't see the smile and Blaine's voice was croaked from a sore throat so Kurt didn't catch the happiness in Blaine's voice.

"I can sleep downstairs if you want." Kurt said.

"No." Blaine said and Kurt looked at him, "I like sleeping with you."

Kurt smiled at him and leant over so their lips fused together in a sweet kiss.

"So do I." He whispered on Blaine's lips.

As the day went on, Blaine had enough time to think. The past couple of weeks he had been too busy with studying to really reflect on his situation. Having nothing to do though caused everything to spin round in his head until he felt dizzy and sore. He felt the familiar feeling of depression setting in and he soon became quiet and unresponsive. He just watched as Kurt went through boxes, not really seeing.

He felt ill as well which wasn't helping. He had a sore throat which made it hard to talk, a very bad headache, a chesty cough and shivers. As the day went on he felt increasingly more weak and tired.

"Are you ok?" Kurt said as he sat on the bed next to Blaine. He had been downstairs helping Carole with dinner and Blaine had stayed in the same position that he had left him in an hour early. He was lying on the bed on his side that didn't have broken ribs, facing where Kurt had been sitting on the floor going through boxes. Blaine had the duvet over him, tucked up to his chin and he was staring into space, his eyes vacant.

"I don't feel well." Blaine mumbled, the movement hurting his throat. His mouth was dry and he tried swallowing to wet it but that just hurt more. He felt Kurt's hand on his forehead and closed his eyes at the touch.

"You're quite hot." Kurt said and Blaine could hear the concern in his voice. He turned around and looked at Kurt.

"It hurts." Blaine moaned. Kurt stroked a few strands of Blaine's hair out of his eyes, a caring look in his eyes.

"Where does it hurt?" He asked. Blaine thought for a moment.

"Everywhere." He mumbled.

"Did you finish your painkillers that the doctor prescribed?" Kurt asked. Blaine shook his head and tried to sit up. Kurt placed a hand on his shoulder though so Blaine was pinned to the bed.

"I'll get them, where are they?" He asked.

"In my bag." Blaine mumbled, too tired to argue. He closed his eyes briefly as he heard Kurt ruffle through his bag.

"There's only two missing Blaine." Kurt said, coming back over to him.

"Mmmm." Blaine mumbled, opening his eyes again, "I didn't want to take them while I was sleeping in the car because they knock me out."

Kurt sat back next him, his blue eyes frowning in concern.

"You probably have a chest infection then." Kurt told him, "You haven't let your ribs heal properly."

"I haven't really had the chance to." Blaine said. He sat up and took the glass of water that Kurt offered him. He was afraid that his last comment might have sounded like he was snapping at Kurt. Kurt didn't say anything though as he put two painkillers in his hand.

"These are going to send me straight to sleep." Blaine told him. Kurt moved closer, caressing Blaine's cheek gently.

"It's ok, I'll be here when you wake up."

They shared a short kiss. Blaine felt slightly lighter from just the touch. Once they broke apart he took the pills and lied back down. Kurt sat next to him on the bed, stroking his hair gently. Blaine closed his eyes, enjoying the slow movements. He went to sleep quite quickly, surrounded by Kurt's smell.

**Lol! I'm typing this on the bus and it is so strange! **

**Anyway, Kurt finally knows! I hope you lot like this chapter as I really enjoyed writing it. I think this may be my favourite one. **

**I can't believe how long this story is. I'm sorry if it is dragging out. **

**Oh! And I know that in the drunk scene that some of the characters are a bit out of character but that is because they are drunk and everyone acts different when they're drunk. I think I'm a Santana drunk because I get really emotional and stuff. She was upset about Brittany in this scene so that is why she is crying and stuff. **

**Anyway, please review. **


	8. Chapter 8

Kurt woke up the next morning with his arm draped over Blaine's stomach and his face resting against Blaine's arm. He felt Blaine shiver against him and he opened his eyes to look at the dark haired teenager. Blaine was sweating slightly and his normally tan skin was unusually pale. He had red shadows under his eyes and was shaking with chills.

Kurt frowned, sitting up and placing his hand on Blaine's forehead. He was boiling hot and Kurt recognised the signs of a fever. Blaine had gone straight to sleep after taking the painkillers and had slept through dinner and Kurt coming in to sleep next to him. Kurt was sure that he needed to wake up and eat and drink something in order to get better and stay hydrated, so he gently shook his shoulder.

"Blaine." Kurt whispered, trying to wake him up gently. Blaine mumbled something and opened his eyes. They were bloodshot and unfocused. He shut them again, mumbling something again and turning his head away from Kurt.

"Blaine you need to woke up and eat something." Kurt told him. Blaine didn't respond this time and Kurt frowned in concern. He got out of the bed and went downstairs to get his step-mum. She was in the kitchen with his dad, dressed for work in her nurse's outfit and making her lunch.

"Carole, I think Blaine's ill." Kurt said, looking worried. Carole and Burt looked at him, surprised. Kurt never came downstairs in just his pyjamas and barefoot. He always had at least his dressing grown and slippers on if he hadn't got dressed yet.

"I tried waking him but he won't wake up." Kurt said, rushing his words in his worry.

"Come on, let's go take a look." Carole said, coming up to him and placing a warm hand on his shoulder. Kurt led the way upstairs. He rushed to Blaine's side, taking his hand as Carole looked him over. She took his temperature and his pulse.

"I think he just has the flu Sweetie." Carole told Kurt, "He is probably just exhausted from all the stress he had been going through."

"What should I do?" Kurt asked, rubbing Blaine's arm nervously. He didn't like seeing Blaine like this.

"When he wakes up makes sure he drinks plenty of water and has something to eat." She told him, "Give him some painkillers and the flu medicine in the first aid cupboard."

Kurt nodded, still looking at Blaine nervously. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into Carole's eyes.

"He'll be fine, Sweetie." She reassured him, "He just needs rest and to be looked after for once."

Kurt nodded, smiling gratefully. Carole left and Kurt stayed by Blaine's side. He wasn't going to leave until Blaine woke up.

Everything was very hazy when Blaine woke up. His whole body seemed to ache and his head hurt so much. He tried opening his eyes but he felt too heavy and it was too bright. He groaned, trying to turn away from the source of the brightness, and moved into a soft body.

"Blaine?" He heard someone say. It sounded far away and distant, but he felt the person beside him move so he assumed it was them speaking.

"Blaine, Sweetie, you need to wake up."

"No." Blaine mumbled, not wanting to even open his eyes, let alone wake up.

"Come on Baby, you need to eat something and take some medicine."

Blaine felt a hand on his forehead, moving his hair out of his eyes. Blaine felt cold and was shivering but he could feel that his cheeks and forehead was hot and he was sweating, sending cold shivers through his body. He opened his eyes, groaning at the bright lights. He shut his eyes again, squeezing his eyes shut as the lights made his headache work and his eyes sting.

"It's bright." He moaned. He heard a click, like a switch being turned off and he felt the person move closer to him.

"How about now?" They asked. The voice was still distant but Blaine could just make it out as Kurt. He opened his eyes again and could see better. He could make out Kurt above him but it was all a bit blurred.

"Don't feel well." He mumbled, closing his eyes again.

"I know Sweetie, but you need to wake up to take some medicine." Kurt told him, stroking his forehead tenderly. Blaine groaned again at the thought of having to get up but opened his eyes, trying to focus on something. However, his head was spinning so he was seeing everything in doubles.

He sat up slowly, leaning on Kurt so he didn't fall off the bed. He shivered and tried to bury himself in Kurt's chest. Kurt put an arm around his shoulders to steady him and held him close.

"I've got some flu medicine here." Kurt told him, reaching over to the bedside table and getting the bottle. Blaine still leant against him, wanting to be close to something warm. He took the medicine without argument, screwing up his nose at the horrible taste. He was then given some painkillers and took them with a glass of cool water. He closed his eyes and buried himself completely against Kurt. They were sitting up but Blaine didn't care; Kurt was very comfortable and warm.

"Do you want something to eat?" He heard Kurt say. He didn't reply as he drafted off to sleep again.

Kurt was very aware of the dead weight that was Blaine leaning against him. It wasn't a bad weight but it was very sudden and Kurt wasn't quite sure what to do. Blaine felt hot against him but was still shivering. Kurt pulled the duvet closer around him so Blaine wasn't cold.

Kurt was just debating lying down when he heard a phone ring. He looked over to the bedside table to see Blaine's phone lighting up. He reached over, carefully so not to wake Blaine, and picked up the phone. He managed to catch the name Jon before he answered the phone.

"Hello, Blaine Anderson's phone."

"Whoa, not use to this line being so formal." Was the reply, "Is Blaine there?"

The voice sounded friendly and quite laid back. Kurt had never met Jon but he knew that he was Blaine's boss and friend.

"He isn't available at the moment." Kurt told him.

"Ok, I was just wondering if he was coming into work today?" Jon asked.

"Is he supposed to be in today?" Kurt asked, rubbing Blaine's arm slowly.

"Yeah, he was supposed to be in two hours ago." Jon informed him, "Is this Kurt?"

"Yeah." He answered, surprised.

"B has told me so much about you." Jon said and Kurt could hear the grin on his face. Kurt blushed at this but smiled.

"Blaine isn't feeling well so he can't come in today." Kurt told the older man.

"I knew that this would happen." Jon sighed, "Always does when he is working himself too hard, he gets ill once all the chaos dies down."

"Does he?" Kurt asked, knowing that this man has known Blaine a lot longer than he had so probably knew Blaine a lot better.

"Yeah, just tell B that he can come in whenever and not to worry and get better soon." Jon said. Kurt realised that he obviously cared about Blaine and he was glad. Blaine could use all the support he could get at the moment.

"Oh, and tell him that there is an opening in the gig next weekend and he can have a set if he wants." Jon told Kurt, "And also tell him that he has to bring you so we can finally meet you, we need to know if you are as brilliant as he makes out."

Kurt laughed and said.

"I will make sure to tell him, it's been nice talking to you Jon."

"You too Kurt, see you next Saturday." Jon ended the call. Kurt put the phone back down and slowly laid down so Blaine was in a more comfortable position. Blaine mumbled something as he moved, hiding his face into Kurt's chest.

"I'm here." Kurt whispered, kissing Blaine's hair, "I'll look after you."

It wasn't until dinner time that Blaine woke up long enough to eat something. Kurt made him tomato soup and bread and butter so that he could eat something without hurting his throat too much. Blaine kept coughing though, shifted his chest so he winced every time he moved. He didn't say much as Kurt helped him eat and take some more medicine, and Kurt could see the empty, lost look in his eyes.

However, Blaine did cheer up slightly when Kurt told him about Jon's offer.

"That's great." Blaine smiled. It was the first genuine smile Kurt had seen on him in weeks. It made his heart soar just looking at it. Blaine had a great smile that lit up the whole room. Kurt definitely wanted to see it more.

"It gives me something to concentrate on." Blaine told him, "I haven't played my guitar in ages."

Kurt smiled at Blaine enthusiasm and draw little circles on his hand and arm, listening as Blaine thought aloud the songs he could play. Kurt was glad that he had a distraction from everything that had been happening, and decided that Jon was obviously an amazing guy that knew what Blaine needed.

"You'll come, right?" Blaine asked, breaking his train of thought to look at Kurt. He nodded, beaming. He had never see Blaine sing without the Warblers before, unless it was just them messing around in the car or their bedrooms or that one time with Rachel, and he was looking forward to seeing Blaine play with his guitar.

"Of course, I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Blaine smiled back, his eyes already showing a slight shine to them.

The next day Kurt had to go to school and he had told Blaine that he was still too ill to go back to Dalton, along with the orders of Carole to stay in bed. He still felt quite weak from the flu that was consuming his body at the moment but he didn't want to stay in bed all day on his own. He had slept all day yesterday and he felt slightly guilty. It must have been really boring for Kurt.

However, when Blaine got up to go to the toilet, he had to sit down to go as he felt too dizzy and unstable on his feet to trust himself to go standing up and not end up on his back. So he decided that staying in bed was the best option for today. He watched Kurt's TV and when he got bored of the day time TV he decided to go on his laptop.

Finn had very kindly brought in all his suitcases from his car yesterday and they were sitting in the corner of the room, waiting to be unpacked. Blaine slowly went over to the bags and got his laptop out. As he sat back down on the bed to boot it up he stroked a hand over its lid fondly. He hadn't used it in a while and he had missed the black and silver bit of technology.

He decided that now would be a good time to start looking for his mother. He knew that his chances of finding her were probably slim on the internet as he was sure that she was smart enough not to leave traces so that his father could find her. Blaine tried facebook first. He typed in her name, Donna Anderson, into the search engine but nothing helpful came up. He decided to search her maiden name, Donna Cheng, but still nothing came up. She was half Filipino, on her father's side, and Blaine couldn't help but picture her beautiful face as he searched for her.

She had always had a beautiful face and dark hair that fell down her back. Her beauty stopped at her eyes though. Her eyes had always been dull and tired. A haunting look had always disturbed her features. The first couple years of her children's lives she put on a smile and played the dotting mother, but as they got older she couldn't keep up the act. She grew tired of her husband's abuse and she find that drink was her only relief. Her beauty seemed to wash away in the years before her departure.

After the facebook search failed, Blaine turned to Google for help. He didn't really know where to start so stared at the search bar for a little while. It stayed blank as he thought of possible leads. He hadn't heard a word from his mother since she had left. She didn't even turn up for her mother's funeral, and as she was his grandmother's only child, he and Amber had been the only family there.

Blaine's thoughts were disturbed by the door opening. He looked up to see Kurt who was smiling at him.

"I thought I would come have lunch with you." Kurt told him, coming to sit next to him. Blaine couldn't help but smile as Kurt gave him a hug. Blaine pushed the laptop to the side and hugged him back, nuzzling into the crock of his neck.

"How are you feeling?" Kurt asked.

"Ok." Blaine replied. Kurt laughed at the croakiness of his voice, an indication that he was still ill.

"Do you want to come downstairs or do you want to be served in bed?" Kurt asked.

"I'll come downstairs, I need to walk around a bit." Blaine answered.

Kurt smiled and moved aside so Blaine could get up. He was a bit unsteady on his feet after being in bed for nearly two days so Kurt had to help him up. They smiled at each other as Blaine looked up into Kurt's blue eyes. They were so close to each other that Blaine could hear Kurt's heartbeat. He closed his eyes for a moment, just listening to the sound silently. It was nice. So calming.

"You smell nice." Blaine mumbled. Kurt laughed softly, kissing Blaine's hair. Blaine moved closer so he was nuzzled completely against him. Kurt was warm and soft but he felt strong and safe as he wrapped his arms around him.

They stayed like that for a moment. Blaine felt safe. He felt looked after and cared for. He felt loved. Everything that had happened the last three days had made Blaine realised that Kurt cared about him. Kurt had looked after him and had been so kind to him. He had shown Blaine that this wasn't just a fling. Kurt cared about him and their relationship. He wanted them to stay together.

And Kurt did continue to take care of Blaine. The next day he protested like crazy as Blaine put his uniform back on. He tried to get Blaine to stay at home as he was still coughing and his glands were still swollen, but Blaine didn't want to sit in the house anymore. Being alone just meant he was left to dwell in his thoughts. He wanted to get back to school where Warbler practice and classes would distract him.

Kurt also made sure that Blaine continued to take his painkillers and rested so that his broken bones could start to heal properly. He gave Blaine cuddles and kisses which comforted him beyond belief, and he also sat and talked with Blaine for hours every night as Blaine finally started to open up to him. Kurt listened as Blaine told him about his past and his family, as well as his fears and dreams, and everything that was going on in his mind. Just talking about it and opening up to someone so close to him made Blaine feel so much better about everything. Kurt was a good listener and always knew what to do to make everything perfect and fine and bright.

On Wednesday the spare room was ready and Blaine moved in. Burt had done a great job with the room. The walls were cream and there was pale orange curtains, brighten the room. There was a single bed under the window, which had a patchwork blanket on it that Carole had made when she had been pregnant with Finn. On the wall was a painting of a park and a lake, with two swans in the middle of the water; their necks arched so their beaks were touching and their necks formed a love heart.

"My Mum did it." Kurt told Blaine as he looked at it. Blaine knew that Kurt's mum had liked to paint and her bits of art were all around the house. There was a portrait of Kurt when he had been two in the living room and a landscape of New York in Kurt's room. His mother had visited the city when she was in college and had gone to the top of the Empire state building and had sketched the view so that later she could paint it. The painting was one of the reasons that Kurt wanted to go to New York to study and possibly live.

"It's beautiful." Blaine said as Kurt started organising Blaine's clothes. He helped Blaine unpack and the room slowly went from being the spare room to Blaine's room.

"What is in this one?" Kurt asked, putting the heavier red suitcase on the bed. Blaine hadn't actually looked in it yet as he knew that whatever was in the red suitcase was all he had left. All his other belongings had been thrown away and he was slightly scared to found out what had been discarded like trash.

"It's all the things Amber could scavenge from my room." Blaine told him before unzipping it. The first thing on top was the Simba teddy that he had given Amber when she had been born. It was worn and patches of fur were missing but it made Blaine smile. He placed it on the bed and took a look inside.

There were photo albums and books, along with the blanket that had given Blaine much comfort as a child. There was a photo in a frame of him, Amber and their grandmother one Christmas. He placed that on the bedside table. The suitcase was just full of memories. There were CDs and DVDs, along with the flower that Zack had given him at the dance. He had pressed it in a heavy book so that he could keep it.

"Is that you?" Kurt asked, seeing a photo of Blaine when he was three. His hair was really curly at that point and he had inherited his mother's olive skin, which had darkened in the summer sun. He had been at one of his mother's friend's house at a BBQ. They had a daughter his age and they spent the afternoon running around the garden in the paddling pool and playing 'mermaids'. In the photo Blaine had a plastic tiara on and was holding a pink wand. There was a massive smile on his face as he held onto the tiara.

"This was my Mum's favourite picture of me." Blaine told Kurt, "She had to hide it from my Dad so she hid it in one of my story books and I found it after she left."

"You look so cute." Kurt smiled, "I'm going to get a frame for it."

Blaine felt himself blush, but smiled as Kurt looked at the photo with an adoring smile on his face.

"I can't believe this is all I have left." Blaine said, looking around at the room which now held all his belongings. It wasn't a lot compared to what he used to have. Amber hadn't been able to save his TV and his Play Station 3, or his drum kit and his violin, or all of his books and childhood toys that he had kept, and these were only a few things.

Kurt came up behind him and hugged him around the middle, leaning his chin on Blaine's shoulder.

"You'll get more stuff with more memories." Kurt told him, "We'll make them together."

Blaine smiled, hugging Kurt's arms that were around his stomach. He agreed by nodding.

It was hard not sleeping without Kurt. They both seemed to be finding it hard after spending nearly a week sleeping next to each other. That night they curled up on Blaine's new bed, whispering as Burt and Carole's bedroom was right next to them.

"I don't want to leave." Kurt whispered as he nuzzled his nose in his neck.

"I don't want you to leave." Blaine smiled, putting on a pout. They were silent for a moment, just enjoying the feel of lying next to each other. Blaine was lying on his back with Kurt lying against him, his face hidden in his neck and his arm dropped over Blaine's stomach.

"One day we will be able to do this all the time." Kurt said.

"Really?" Blaine asked, looking down at him, "Do you really want us to live together?"

Kurt popped himself up on his elbows and looked down at Blaine. He tilted his head to the side as Blaine reached up and traced a finger along his cheek.

"Yeah." Kurt replied, "More than anything."

He lent down and kissed Blaine slowly and tenderly. Blaine put his hand on Kurt's cheek, bringing his face closer to him. Their lips fused into one and it was soft and warm and Blaine knew.

Blaine knew that Kurt meant it. Kurt wanted to be with him. Kurt cared about him. Kurt possibly even loved him.

Blaine knew then that he would make it through all this. Kurt will help him.

The most important thing that Blaine had saved was his guitar. He was glad that Jon had given him a gig to concentrate on for this weekend. He hadn't played his favourite instrument in ages and it felt like magic to have the slick wooden body in his hands. Practising took his mind off everything as he got caught up in his music.

Saturday rolled around quickly and Blaine was excited to get to work and play his guitar. He drove with Kurt and picked up Amber and her friend Charlotte from her house as they wanted to go to gig as well.

"I've missed you so much." Amber said, leaning into the front seat and kissing Blaine on the cheek. He smiled at her through the mirror, his insides warming at the sight of her smile.

"I'm Kurt." Kurt said, turning around in his seat and looking at the young girl.

"I know." Amber smiled, "I'm Amber and this is Charlotte."

Charlotte gave a small wave and smiled politely. She had straight brown hair and big blue eyes. She looked slightly nervous and was quiet but looked happy nonetheless. Amber and Kurt chatted away happily, neither of them able to run out of things to say. Blaine had to chuckle as he realised how similar they were.

An hour later Blaine was sitting on a stool with his guitar in his hands. He smiled at the table closest to the stage, where Kurt was sitting, clapping his hands and smiling up at him, with Amber who was whistling loudly and cheering and Charlotte who was clapping politely and laughing at her friend.

"I've only been given a week to prepare for this and as you might be able to see my arm is not in the best condition." Blaine told the audience, stringing his guitar to see if it was in tune, "So if this isn't that good I apologise in advance."

He smiled at the crowd. Most of the people there were older than him, seeing as it was a bar, but they all seemed friendly enough and looking at him, waiting for him to start.

He decided to start with Hey Soul Sister, a personal favourite to play. It was fun and upbeat and got the audience singing along. He felt happy as he played and sang. His flu had pretty much gone now and Kurt had been feeding him honey tea to heal his throat, so his voice was smooth and strong as he sang.

He ended the song with a round of applause and smiled into the microphone.

"This one is for my little sister." He said, looking straight at Amber, who smiled wide and cheered at the dedication, "Let's remember the good times Sis."

**The seaweed is always greener  
>In somebody else's lake<strong>

Amber's smile grew as Blaine began to play the song and he knew what she was thinking about. Playing around the garden or in the bath where they use to pretend they were mermaids and fish under the sea.

**You dream about going up there  
>But that is a big mistake<br>Just look at the world around you  
>Right here on the ocean floor<br>Such wonderful things surround you  
>What more is you lookin' for?<strong>

**Under the sea  
>Under the sea<br>Darling it's better  
>Down where it's wetter<br>Take it from me  
>Up on the shore they work all day<br>Out in the sun they slave away  
>While we devotin'<br>Full time to floatin'  
>Under the sea<br>**

The song got the bar in a very good mood and many people were laughing and singing along. The bartender, Jackie, was holding her nose and shaking her body doing the fish dance.

**Down here all the fish is happy  
>As off through the waves they roll<br>The fish on the land ain't happy  
>They sad 'cause they in their bowl<br>But fish in the bowl is lucky  
>They in for a worser fate<br>One day when the boss get hungry  
>Guess who's gon' be on the plate<strong>

**Under the sea  
>Under the sea<br>Nobody beat us  
>Fry us and eat us<br>In fricassee  
>We what the land folks loves to cook<br>Under the sea we off the hook  
>We got no troubles<br>Life is the bubbles  
>Under the sea<br>Under the sea  
>Since life is sweet here<br>We got the beat here  
>Naturally<br>Even the sturgeon an' the ray  
>They get the urge 'n' start to play<br>We got the spirit  
>You got to hear it<br>Under the sea**

**The newt play the flute  
>The carp play the harp<br>The plaice play the bass  
>And they soundin' sharp<br>The bass play the brass  
>The chub play the tub<br>The fluke is the duke of soul  
>(Yeah)<br>The ray he can play  
>The lings on the strings<br>The trout rockin' out  
>The blackfish she sings<br>The smelt and the sprat  
>They know where it's at<br>An' oh that blowfish blow**

**Under the sea  
>Under the sea<br>When the sardine  
>Begin the beguine<br>It's music to me  
>What do they got? A lot of sand<br>We got a hot crustacean band  
>Each little clam here<br>know how to jam here  
>Under the sea<br>Each little slug here  
>Cuttin' a rug here<br>Under the sea  
>Each little snail here<br>Know how to wail here  
>That's why it's hotter<br>Under the water  
>Ya we in luck here<br>Down in the muck here  
>Under the sea<strong>

The song ended in a massive cheer and Blaine could see how happy Amber was. Kurt was laughing at the song, cheering loudly with the rest of the crowd. Blaine laughed at well when he saw how well the audience was responding to him and his choice of songs. He saw Jon, who was at the sound desk, give him a thumbs-up. Blaine nodded at him, gratefully for this opportunity.

Blaine continued to play. He sang Misery by Maroon 5 and Hallelujah by Paramore before getting to his last song. He looked at Kurt who had been smiling proudly at Blaine the whole way through. He had sat there and listened intently, swaying slightly to the music and mouthing the familiar words. This was the first time he had seen Blaine perform on his own and he looked so content up on the stage; sitting on the stool above everyone and just singing. There was no dancing or backing vocals. Just him and his guitar and his voice.

"I've been going through a bit of rough patch at the moment." Blaine said into the microphone, readjusting the guitar slightly. The audience was silent as they listened.

"But one person has helped me through it." Blaine said, looking directly at Kurt.

"Kurt, you've been there for me, in more ways than you can imagine." Blaine told him. Kurt blushed and looked back. Their eyes were connected even through the darkness of the bar and the bright lights of the stage.

"Just your smile makes me feel ten times better and I know everything will be ok as long as I have you." Blaine said, "So this song is dedicated to you, as a thank you."

**Have you ever fed a lover with just your hands?  
>Close your eyes and trust it, just trust it<br>Have you ever thrown a fist full of glitter in the air?  
>Have you ever looked fear in the face<br>And said I just don't care?**

Blaine began to play and the audience stayed silent as they listened to the words. Blaine kept his eyes on Kurt, who had tears in his eyes. Trust Blaine to sing a Pink song to him. He smirked at this thought, wiping his eyes with a napkin.

**It's only half past the point of no return  
>The tip of the iceberg, the sun before the burn<br>The thunder before lightning, the breath before the phrase  
>Have you ever felt this way?<br>**

Amber saw the tears in Kurt's eyes and smiled affectingly. She could see how much Kurt cared about Blaine even though she had only known him for a little while. She moved closer, holding his hand. Kurt took his eyes off Blaine for the first time to smile at her.

Kurt was definitely a keeper, Amber decided.

**Have you ever hated yourself for staring at the phone?  
>Your whole life waiting on the ring to prove you're not alone<br>Have you ever been touched so gently you had to cry?  
>Have you ever invited a stranger to come inside?<strong>

**It's only half past the point of oblivion  
>The hourglass on the table, the walk before the run<br>The breath before the kiss and the fear before the flames  
>Have you ever felt this way?<strong>

**La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la**

**There you are, sitting in the garden  
>Clutching my coffee, calling me sugar<br>You called me sugar**

Blaine felt tears in his own eyes as the song started to end. He laughed at himself, concentrating on finishing the song. He couldn't wait to get off the stage and hug the two most important people in his life. He knew as he looked at them holding hands and looking at him with such proud eyes that he was going to be ok. **  
><strong>

**Have you ever wished for an endless night?  
>Lassoed the moon and the stars and pulled that rope tight<br>Have you ever held your breath and asked yourself  
>Will it ever get better than tonight? Tonight<strong>

"Thank you!" Blaine cheered into the microphone before leaping off the stage. The room erupted into claps and cheers and Blaine felt an overwhelming sense of pride. It was a good feeling and he was glad that he had made that many people happy.

"That was brilliant!" Amber told him as he went to their table. She leapt up and hugged him tightly. Blaine laughed, hugging her back.

"Great set B." Jon said, coming over to them, holding a tray of drinks. He had been giving them free drinks all evening along with teasing the two teenage boys about being underage and therefore unable to 'have a proper drink'.

"Thanks Jon." Blaine said, taking the coke he was offering him, "I really needed that."

"I might be able to make it a regular gig." The older man told him, "I could pay you a bit every time you play here."

"Thanks for the offer, but you know I can't accept payment." Blaine told him, "I wouldn't be able to be in the Warblers then."

Jon shook his head but smiled.

"I'll do it for free though." Blaine said, his features brightening at the thought of having a regular show to perform at.

"Free entertainment?" Jon asked, leaning on a chair, "I think I can live with that." He winked at Blaine before going onstage to announce the next act.

Blaine sat down next to Kurt, who was still smiling and his eyes were still watering. Blaine leant towards him and wiped a stray tear away.

"That was great Blaine." Kurt told him, a soft pink blush lighting up his cheeks, "Well done."

"I'm glad you liked it." Blaine smiled, happy and content and feeling very high on life. This was the best he had felt in months. Tonight nothing mattered. Tonight everything was forgotten.

Amber was staying round Charlotte's that night, as she did most weekends. She told Blaine that their father didn't seem to notice her absent, but that might be because his drinking had got worse over the last couple of weeks. He spent most of his time in the bar and only got back in the early hours of the morning and slept on the sofa.

Charlotte went into the house first and Blaine stood on the path leading up to the house with Amber, with Kurt waiting in the car. Blaine tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she said,

"I miss you."

"I miss you too." Blaine told her, looking down at her. Her eyes began to well up with tears and Blaine pulled her into a hug.

"If you ever need me, even if it is two in the morning, you can call me and I'll come and see you." Blaine said in a very serious tone. Amber nodded against his chest and broke away, wiping her face with her sleeve. She looked from Blaine to the car where Kurt was waiting patiently, singing along with the CD he was playing.

"He loves you." Amber told Blaine. He looked behind him to Kurt, surprised.

"I could tell when he was watching you sing." Amber continued, "It was as if all he could see was you."

Blaine smiled, realising that Amber was right. He turned back to her and kissed her forehead.

"We'll meet up again soon, I'm working tomorrow so you could come in if you want lunch."

Amber smiled and nodded. She walked up to the house and waved at the door. Blaine waved back, feeling sad to see her back.

_Soon_, he thought before going back to the car. Kurt smiled at him as he sat in the passage seat.

"Ready to go home?" He asked. Blaine nodded, his eyes on the house as they drove away.

Blaine hit a brick wall in his search for his mother. He had searched every corner of the internet for any mention of her name but had come up for nothing. He had gone to the Police station to see if there was any record of her, and had called up an old phone company that she use to work for before she disappeared to see if she had told them about where she could have gone. Apparently she had just not turned up for work one day.

Blaine was now standing in front of one of her old friend's house. This was his last chance. If this woman didn't know where his mother was then he didn't think he would be able to find her unless she wanted to be found.

Blaine nervously knocked on the door of the well-kept house. He bounced on the balls of his feet until the door opened.

"Blaine?" The middle aged woman asked with a surprised look on her face. Blaine hadn't seen her since before his mother disappeared. She had blonde thin hair which was tied up and tired eyes, which probably came from having three children; one of which was only five years old.

"Hello Mrs Owen." Blaine said, putting on his polite and charming persona he reserved for teachers and older adults.

"I haven't seen you in a while." She replied, tilting her head to the side slightly to look at him. He had come straight from school so he was in his Dalton uniform, "How have you been?"

"Well thank you, and yourself?" Blaine asked, wishing the formalities would go faster.

"I'm fine thank you." She replied, biting her lip slightly, "Is there something I can do for you?"

"I am trying to get in contract with my mother." Blaine told her, "I was wondering if you had a number or something so I could get hold of her."

Mrs Owen leant against the door frame, her arms folded, and looked at Blaine. He tried to read her expression but he couldn't really make it out. It looked like she was trying too hard to keep a natural face.

"I haven't heard from your mother since she left."

For someone reason Blaine could tell she was lying. She looked uncomfortable and couldn't look him in the eye.

"Mrs Owen, don't you think that every child should be safe and looked after?" Blaine asked. The women's breath seemed to hitch a bit, as if she was shocked by this question.

"Don't you think that every child should know their mother?"

Mrs Owen didn't reply but Blaine could tell what she was thinking. He could hear a child's laughter inside the house and her eyes briefly looked in the direction of the sound.

"If you hear from my mother, please tell her that we need her desperately and that I... I need to talk to her."

Blaine walked away, not waiting for a reply. He couldn't do anymore. He just hoped that somehow this worked out. He didn't like to admit it but he really did need his mum back.

A phone ringing pierced the silence of the dark room, waking Blaine up slowly. He blinked, confused in his half asleep state. He had gone to bed early after being exhausted from school and Warblers practice, leaving Kurt and Finn downstairs playing Call of Duty, a guilty pleasure of Kurt's that he only realised after Finn moved in with him.

Blaine reached out in the dark and found his phone on his bedside table. He registered that his clock read 23:00 before answering his phone.

"Hello?" He asked, his eyes closing and his voice gruff with sleep.

"Bla...ine?" A soft cry sounded on the other end. Blaine's eyes opened as he heard the broken voice saying his name.

"Amber? What's wrong?" He asked, sitting up straight. His heart started to race as he heard a sob escape her mouth.

"Can... can you come...pick me up?" She asked, her voice thick with tears.

"Are you hurt?" Blaine asked, throwing the duvet off him and getting out of bed. Another sob filled his ears and he felt goose bumps erupt on his skin as the sound echo in his ears.

"His drunk, he's throwing things downstairs, he is so angry."

"Did he hurt you Amber?" Blaine asked urgently. Amber didn't reply but her sobs got louder.

"I'm coming to get you, Am, just pack some clothes and sit tight, I'll be there as soon as I can." Blaine told her, pulling some jeans on with one hand and grabbing a dirty shirt that had been discarded on the floor from when he got changed.

"If he comes into your room call the Police." Blaine said firmly.

"O...k." Amber cried before hanging up.

Blaine rushed out of the room, pulling on his shirt as he went. He ran down the stairs, surprising Kurt and Finn who was still playing COD.

"Blaine! What's wrong?" Kurt asked, seeing the angry and pale features of his boyfriend. Blaine searched around for his keys and grabbed his shoes, pulling them on quickly.

"I need to go get Amber."

"Why? What is wrong?" Kurt asked, coming over to him. Blaine straightened up, looking around for his keys again.

"It's him." Blaine spat out, venom in his voice. Kurt had never heard such a sound of hatred come from Blaine's mouth before. It scared him.

"Blaine." Kurt said, trying to catch his hand. It failed though as Blaine was rushing around.

"Where are my keys!" Blaine asked. This time it was more a sound of desperation and Kurt could hear the tears in his voice.

"Blaine, you need to calm down." Kurt said, picking up the keys where they had been on the table near the door, right underneath Blaine's nose and where he had put them when he had come in from school. Kurt pushed them into Blaine's hand and put a hand on his face so he had to look at him.

"You can't go rushing off to face your father like this."

"I need to go!" Blaine told him, moving away. Kurt managed to catch his hand this time, keeping him there.

"I know Sweetie." Kurt said gently. He could feel that Blaine was shaking and he kept looking at the door impatiently.

"You're not going on your own though." Kurt told him. Blaine looked at him. He wanted to argue but he knew that it would just take longer, so gave a short nod.

"I'll come as well." Finn said, standing up from the sofa and coming over to them. Blaine smiled at the brothers gratefully as they quickly pulled on their shoes. Blaine couldn't help but think that Finn coming would be a good idea as he was taller than Blaine's father and therefore might be a bit intimidating.

"Tell me what happened." Kurt said as they got into Finn's car. Kurt had told Blaine that he was in no state to drive and Finn was a quicker driver then him so he got the job while Kurt tried to calm Blaine down.

"Amber called me." He told Kurt, his hands still shaking as he looked down at them and rubbed them together to try and still his nerves.

"She sounded so frightened." Blaine said, running a hand through his hair and pulling his head down so his face was hidden, "Oh God, what has he done to her?"

He felt a hand on his arm and he felt the warmth of Kurt beside him.

"Amber is going to be fine." Kurt told him. Blaine couldn't help but believe him as they raced down the now deserted stretch of road. He nervously tapped his fingers against the door, holding his phone tight in his other hand.

Finn got to his street in record time but Blaine had no time to be impressed as he took off his seat belt and placed his hand on the door handle, ready to jump out as soon as the car stopped. He leapt out of the car, closely followed by Finn and Kurt, and rushed to the door. He pounded loudly on the door and heard the familiar shouts of his father inside. He felt chills go through him at the voice and he felt like he was going to threw up.

Blaine held his head high though as the door was thrown open and he came face to face with his father. Blaine could smell the alcohol on his breath as the man growled at the sight of his only son standing before him.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" He shouted and Blaine felt Kurt flinch beside him. Blaine didn't even blink though. He decided right there and then that he was not going to be afraid of his father anymore.

"I'm here to get Amber." Blaine told him firmly.

"You're not going anywhere near her." The man growled, "I don't want all your faggyness getting over her."

Blaine's eyes narrowed and he shoved past the man. Amber was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, a suitcase in hand. She had crept out of her room when she had the banging on the door. She looked scared and seemed to be quivering at the sight of her father. Blaine rushed over to her and as he got closer to her he could see the bruising that was developing around her eye and on her cheek.

"How could you do this?" Blaine asked his father, turning to look at him, fury in his eyes. He grabbed hold of Amber's arm, holding her behind him so their father couldn't get to her. She clutched Blaine's t-shirt tightly, shaking.

"This is none of your business!" The man roared, coming towards them. Finn and Kurt came into the house behind him. Finn looked nervous but his fists were clutched as if he was ready for a fight. Kurt stood strong beside him but Blaine could see the tears in his eyes as he looked at the angry, drunk man and the bruised little girl.

"Of course it is my business!" Blaine hissed at his father, "She is my little sister, I practically raised her!"

Blaine started to move slowly, bringing Amber with him. He wanted to get her to the door, to safety, but their father was standing in their way, so he slowly moved around him, keeping eye contract with the drunken man. Blaine could feel Amber hiding her face in his back so that she couldn't see the man glaring at them.

"That's because your Mum fucked off" He yelled back to Blaine, "It's not my job to look after you, it's a woman's job."

Blaine snorted, keeping eye contact with him as they got closer to the door. His father also kept the contact, moving with them so they were still facing each other.

"You wouldn't have bothered with us even if you were a woman, because you don't have a shit about us." Blaine told him, "You are a terrible parent and we don't need you."

Blaine could see the anger building in his father's eyes. He knew that he was going to snap any time soon so once he got to Finn and Kurt he gave Amber's hand to the first person, who happened to be Finn, and said under his breath,

"Get her to the car."

Blaine didn't look behind him but he felt Finn lead Amber quickly out of the house.

"You're not taking her!" His father yelled, coming towards them. Blaine could see that his fists were clutched as he came closer and braced himself for the contact to make to his skin.

Kurt saw it as well. The tall, scary man with Blaine's dark curls came towards Blaine and his fist became to rise. Without thinking about it, Kurt stepped in front of Blaine and the knuckles that were aimed for Blaine hit Kurt. The pain was worse than he had imagined and he fell backwards against Blaine, tasting blood.

"Kurt!" Blaine yelled, shocked as the fist missed him and Kurt fell, his nose bleeding. Seeing his father hit Kurt made something snap in him and Blaine looked up at the man, who didn't seemed shocked at all at missing Blaine. He seemed glad somehow and grinned down at the bleeding boy.

Blaine stepped forward, bringing his fist up and hitting the man as hard as he could. Blaine heard a crack as his knuckles hit his nose. The man fell backwards, taken by surprised. He nursed his nose as blood escaped.

Blaine bent down so he was looking his father directly in the eye. He felt angry and adrenaline seemed to be filling every inch of his body. He clutched a fistful of the man's t-shirt in his hand, bringing the man's face closer to his.

"Don't you dare come near me, Amber or Kurt again!" Blaine hissed, bringing his other fist up; the fist with the cast on. He hit his father again and he felt the man wince under him. 17 years of hate, fear and hurt came rushing to Blaine and he wanted to transfer all these emotions through his fist to his father's face.

"Blaine!" He heard Kurt yell, and suddenly strong arms were pulling away from the man he hated. The man he wanted to hurt.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Finn told him and Blaine realised he was the person pulling him away. Blaine shrugged him off, still glaring at the man on the floor bleeding. Blaine's cast had cut his face, leaving a huge graze along his cheek.

Blaine turned around, clutching his teeth together, and bent down to help Kurt up, who was holding his nose with his hands. Blood covered his face and his white shirt. Guilt filled Blaine as he and Finn helped Kurt up and out of the door.

"Oh my God!" Amber cried when she saw Kurt. She was standing near the car, her face filled with fear and guilt that matched Blaine's features.

"Are you ok?" Blaine asked, getting Kurt into the car. Kurt didn't seemed to be able to talk as he squeezed his eyes shut and hold his nose. Amber got into the front passage seat next to Finn as Blaine got Kurt into the back seat. Kurt was even paler then he normally was, nearly as white as a ghost, and he was shaking.

Finn started to drive as Blaine's father ran out of the house, shouting and running towards the car. Amber saw him and screamed, burying her face into her hands so that she couldn't see.

"It's ok, he can't get you now." Blaine told her, torn between reaching over to her and comforting her and trying to calm down Kurt who was now looking at his hands which were dyed red. His eyes were wide and there was an expression on his face that Blaine couldn't quite read.

Suddenly Kurt slumped against Blaine and he started to panic as he realised that Kurt was unconscious.

"Oh my God! Finn, he's passed out! What do I do?" Blaine asked, looking at Kurt, and shaking him slightly to get him to wake up.

"He doesn't like blood." Finn told him, looking at the pair in the back through his front mirror, "I think he fainted, we should get him home."

"I didn't know that." Blaine said, his guilt building as he tried to get Kurt into a more comfortable position.

"There's a clean towel in the bag on the floor, try to clean some of the blood off his face." Finn told Blaine, taking charge. Blaine was glad that someone was. His adrenaline had died down and his anger had disappeared as he tried to look after Kurt. The way Kurt had just passed out had really scared him. Blaine pulled a red towel out of the sports bag that was on the floor and gently rubbed Kurt's face so that some of the blood came off.

"I cut my finger the other day when I was helping Mum with dinner and he just went down like a sack of potatoes." Finn told Blaine, "It's something to do with seeing his Mum have a blood transfusion in the hospital when she was ill."

When Blaine had cleaned most of the blood off Kurt, he turned to the front, where he realised Amber was crying, her knees drawn up and her face hidden. Her shoulders were shaking and soft sobs were coming from her. Blaine wanted to reach out and hug her; to hold her in his arms and tell her that it was all ok. That he was going to fix this and everything would get better.

But he couldn't move because Kurt was leaning heavily against him and Blaine was stuck in his seat. Finn noticed that she was crying as well and put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently.

"Hey, it's ok, you're safe now." Finn told her, making Blaine smile but also making him feel slightly jealous that Finn could comfort his little sister but he couldn't. Amber looked up at the footballer, wiping her face with the sleeve of her jacket.

"I'm Finn by the way." Finn told her, "I'm Kurt's step-brother."

"Is Kurt going to be ok?" Amber asked, looking to the back seat and Blaine. Blaine gave her a small, broken smile. The car was dark but he could just make out the bruise on her face.

"Yeah, he will be fine." Finn told Amber. Blaine could see how white Finn's knuckles had got as he gripped the stirring wheel tightly. Even though he was smiling and being friendly to Amber, Blaine could tell that he was angry. Blaine dreaded seeing Burt's reaction. It wasn't going to good for his health to find out that his son had been punched by an adult twice his size.

The majority of the car journey was silent and Blaine got increasingly worried as Kurt didn't wake up. Finn pulled up outside their house and he got out to help Blaine carry Kurt inside. Finn scooped the unconscious boy up in his arms and carried him inside and Blaine got Amber out of the car and inside the house, leading her gently by the hand.

"What happened?" Burt asked, panicking as Finn put Kurt on the couch. Burt was by his side in a matter of seconds and looking over his unconscious son. Kurt still had blood over him and his shirt was pretty much dyed red with the sticky substance.

Carole began to check Kurt over for injuries as Burt looked up at Blaine and Finn, anger in his eyes.

"What happened?" He asked again, "We came down to see you all gone and the car missing, we tried calling but you all left your phones here."

Blaine bowed his head in guilt as Finn said,

"We had to go to Blaine's house because his Dad was going crazy and we had to get Amber."

Amber let out a little squeak at her name, moving closer to Blaine as Burt stood up.

"Did he do this?" Burt asked, "Did your Father do this to my boy!"

Blaine nodded, looking up at Burt, feeling more scared of his rejection then his own father's fists,

"The punch was meant for me but Kurt stepped in front of me and took it." Blaine said, his voice shaking, "He passed out in the car."

"It's because of the blood." Finn tried to explain, sensing Blaine's nervousness and the guilt in his voice.

"I'm really sorry, I didn't want Kurt to get hurt." Blaine told Burt, squeezing Amber's hand, "I didn't want anyone to get hurt."

Carole stood up, putting a hand on Burt's shoulder as his fists tightened by his side.

"Kurt is fine, just slightly bruised." She told him, trying to calm her husband. He nodded, and then got the blanket from the back of the sofa and placed it over Kurt's body. Carole came over to Blaine and Amber, smiling warmly at the girl. Blaine felt Amber move even closer to him, grabbing his arm tightly.

"Hi I'm Carole." The mother smiled at Amber, leaning down slightly, "I'm a nurse so can I have a look at your face to see if you're ok?"

Amber nodded hesitantly and Carole led them into the kitchen where Blaine sat her down on a chair and Carole knelt down to examine her. She didn't ask what happened and Blaine kept holding Amber's hand. He felt sick as the light showed how bruised Amber's face really was. Purple, blue and black decorated her features. She had tear tracks down her cheeks and her eyes were red.

"I think that it might just be a little sore but you should be ok." Carole told her, holding Amber's chin gently to look at her. Carole's eyes were sad despite her friendly and motherly smile. She went to the freezer and got a bag of peas out and wrapped it in a towel before handing it to Amber.

"This might help the swollen, just hold it against your cheek Dear."

"Thank you." Blaine said gratefully, looking at the women. Carole just nodded before going back to the living room.

Blaine sat down on a chair and pulled it towards Amber so they were looking at each other. He took her hand in both of his and sighed. Amber looked down at her lap, tears making their way down her cheeks again.

"What happened?" Blaine asked, dreading the answer.

"He just got angry, I don't know what about but it was really bad." Amber sniffed, shivering slightly, "I came in and he just started shouting at me and he hit me, and I ran upstairs and rang you."

"Is this the first time that he has hit you?" Blaine asked, leaning forward to wipe away a few tears. Amber nodded, a sob escaping her mouth. Blaine moved closer and wrapped his arms around the tumbling girl.

"Everything's going to be ok now." Blaine told her, whispering it softly against her hair, "I promise."

Amber broke away and smiled at him. The smile was broken and not quite there but Blaine could see that it was going to get better and brighter somehow.

Finn came in then and started to make hot chocolate. He made the best hot chocolate that Blaine had ever had and he used it as a comforting method when things were going wrong or people were down. Blaine had lost count of the amount of times a mug of chocolaty goodness had been pushed into his hands the last couple of weeks since he had began living with him. Not that Blaine was complaining. It was like a mug of heaven.

Blaine left Amber in the capability hands of Finn and went to check on Kurt. He knelt down beside the sofa and took Kurt's hand. The touched seemed to wake Kurt and he stirred, opening his eyes. Blaine bit his lip as Kurt winced as the movement caused him pain.

"Hey." Blaine said gently. Kurt looked confused and he reached up to feel his face. He winced as he touched the bruise that was around his eye and cheek.

"Did I pass out?" Kurt asked. Blaine nodded, kissing Kurt's knuckles gently. He felt tears in his eyes as he looked at Kurt. He felt so guilty for everything. Both Amber and Kurt were hurt because of him.

Kurt slowly sat up, looking across the room to see his father sitting in the armchair and Carole on the other sofa. Burt still looked angry but looked at his son with soft eyes. Kurt then looked down to his shirt which still had blood on it. Blaine saw him pale.

"Hey, Kurt, look at me." He said. Kurt did as he was told and Blaine felt him shaking.

"Close your eyes so you can't see it." Blaine told him gently. Kurt obeyed again and Blaine took both his hands and stood up.

"Let's go to the bathroom and clean you off." Blaine said, helping Kurt stand up.

"O...ok." Kurt said, sounding sick. He trusted Blaine as he slowly led him to the downstairs bathroom. Blaine then sat him down on the toilet seat lid.

"I'm going to take your shirt off, ok?" Blaine asked. Kurt nodded and placed his hands on Blaine's arms as he slowly undid the buttons on the top. Blaine felt himself blushing as he looked at Kurt's chest. It was the first time he had seen Kurt shirtless and his body was breathtaking. He had a firm chest, slightly toned from doing Cheerios and exercise to keep himself in shape. His skin was smooth and as pale as his face but there was blood lining his chest.

Blaine peeled the shirt off and put it in the empty washing basket. He then got a flannel and ran it under the warm tap so that it was damp. He then started to gently clean Kurt's skin, ridden him off the imperfection. He felt Kurt moan slightly as he rubbed his chest.

"Did I hurt you?" Blaine asked, withdrawing his hands slightly. Kurt grabbed hold of his hands and shook his head,

"No... It feels nice." Kurt brought Blaine's hands back to his chest and Blaine continued to gently rub his skin. Kurt leant his head forward, his eyes still closed and a dreamy expression on his face.

As Blaine cleaned the blood off Kurt's skin, the tears in his eyes grew and grew. Without realising it, the tears escaped and he was struggling not sob. Kurt noticed the shaking though as Blaine wiped a trail of blood off his cheek. Kurt opened his eyes and looked at Blaine.

"Baby..." Kurt said gently, reaching out. Blaine just shook his head, standing up as the blood was gone.

"I...I'll go get you a top." Blaine mumbled, leaving Kurt feeling bewildered.

Blaine ran upstairs and tried to compose himself when he got into Kurt's room. He wasn't allowed to break down yet. He had to make sure Kurt was ok and he had to look after Amber. Tears could come later when he is alone. Not now. Not when people needed him.

Blaine grabbed a t-shirt and some sweats from Kurt's draw and then ran back downstairs. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs as he came face to face with a Police Officer. The man was talking to Burt. Blaine's heart seemed to stop as he looked at the middle aged man in uniform. Fear built in him as Burt turned around and looked at him.

"I had to call the Police, Blaine." Burt told him, "I couldn't let your Dad get away with what he did to Kurt, and he has been hurting you and Amber for far too long."

Blaine bit his lip, wanting to shout at Burt and tell the Police Officer to fuck off, but instead he just nodded.

Everyone was gathered into the living room. Blaine and Amber sat on the sofa next to each other. Blaine wrapped his arms around her protectively and staring blankly in front of him, answering questions automatically. Amber curled up beside Blaine, tears still running down her cheeks as she answered her questions.

The Police Officer asked everyone questions and several statements were written up. Photos were taken of Kurt and Amber's injuries, and Blaine's now nearly healed ones.

It took hours and they didn't get to bed until the early hours of the morning. The Police Officer had contacted a social worker and they would come see the Hummel-Hudson's very soon to discuss where Amber would be going. As Blaine was nearly 18 they wouldn't put him in care as he was nearly an adult, but Amber may be put into foster care if the family were deemed unsuitable to look after her.

Blaine heard all this just after he tucked Amber into bed. She was sleeping in his room, sleeping peacefully after being up so long. He had been standing at the top of stairs and he froze as they discussed his and his sister's future.

Kurt had been downstairs with the Police Officer and his parents. He had looked up to see Blaine standing at the top of the stairs, his face blank but his eyes wide. His arms were crossed over his chest tightly, as if he was trying to become invisible. The look on his face shook Kurt and he went up to him.

"Blaine?" He asked quietly, trying to look into his eyes. Blaine's eyes were just staring into space though, like he wasn't really there. Kurt looked down the stairs were his dad now stood. Burt gave a small nod and Kurt knew what he had to do. He led Blaine gently his bedroom and sat him down on his double bed.

"Blaine, Sweetie, look at me." Kurt said, trying to get his attention and break the trance. A tear made its way down Blaine's cheek and his hazel eyes shone.

"It's all my fault." Kurt heard him mumble.

"No." Kurt said, gripping his shoulders tightly, "No, it's not."

Blaine nodded, his unseeing eyes suddenly focusing on Kurt's face. He lifted his hand and traced the bruises on Kurt's face. It is so gently that Kurt doesn't even feel it.

"I'm sorry." Blaine mumbled, his voice breaking, "Your face... I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault Blaine, none of it." Kurt told him, sitting down beside him on the bed. Blaine continued to look at him, "It's not your fault your Dad is the way he is."

"Am...ber." Blaine chocked out and Kurt can see him breaking down in front of him. Blaine's small, too thin body was shacking and his head was now bowed, his unruly hair covering his eyes. His hands were in tight fists, clutching clumps of his hair because he needed to hold on to something to stay together.

"Amber is going to be fine." Kurt told Blaine, trying to get his hands away from his beautiful hair. Kurt doesn't know if this is going to be true. He doesn't know what is going to happen but he knew that he is going to try his hardest to make sure that Amber is safe and Blaine is looked after the way he should be.

Blaine finally looked up at Kurt and he can't remember seeing anyone else look so lost and hurt. Not even when his mother died and his father was grieving. Not even that pain seemed to compare to the pain that Blaine was going through.

"I... I feel so broken Kurt." Blaine told him honestly, his eyes dull and red, his skin pale.

Kurt bit his lip, holding back tears. He wrapped his arms around Blaine, bringing him close. Blaine hugged Kurt tightly, holding on to his top desperately, as if he was a life line.

"I'll fix you." Kurt promised. And he meant it. He wasn't given up on Blaine.

Kurt rocked him gently until Blaine went to sleep. Kurt didn't seem to be able to follow him though. He stayed awake, arms around him protectively. He was making sure that Blaine's dreams were kept free of terrors and monsters.

The next day was slow and quiet. No one went to school, seeing as they were up until the hours of the morning, and Burt and Carole didn't go to work, instead concentrating on looking after the teenagers in their house.

Surprisingly Finn was the first on up and he woke his step-brother and his boyfriend up with hot chocolate. Kurt laughed as the mugs were placed on his bedside table and Blaine looked up from where he had rested his head on Kurt's chest and smiled.

"We're going to be made of hot chocolate soon." Blaine mumbled sleepily, the events of yesterday not quite registering in his mind yet. They were triggered though as Amber appeared in the doorway, looking in somewhat nervously. The bruising on her face had darkened, as had it on Kurt's face.

"I've got one for you too." Finn smiled at the girl before going downstairs to fetch it. Blaine sat up, his ribs now causing him little trouble when moving now.

"How did you sleep?" Kurt asked, becoming aware with everyone around that he hadn't done his moisturising routine last night and he probably had lots of spots because of it, but the dull thudding on his face reminded him that he probably looked like hell anyway.

"Ok." Amber smiled, a small light shinning in her eyes. It made Blaine happy because it meant that Amber still had some hope and happiness left.

"The bed was really comfortable." She said, sitting on the end of the bed, crossing her legs and smiling at the two boys who were sitting up, sipping their hot chocolate.

Finn soon came back with his and Amber's hot chocolate and the four of them sat in Kurt's room chatting for a while. Blaine was surprised how normal it felt. Even Amber seemed to be joining in with the conversation happily and laughing along with the boys' jokes. It felt like family.

Just as they decided that they should all get ready and dressed, Blaine's phone rang. He was just decided on what to wear as Amber used the shower. Kurt was in his room, sitting on the bed and reading the month's issue of Vouge when Blaine looked at his phone.

He frowned at the unknown number but answered anyway.

"Hello?" He said, running a hand through his clothes.

"Blaine?" A voice sounded on the other end. Blaine eyes went wide and he went quiet as he heard a voice that he hadn't heard in nearly 5 years. Kurt looked up at the sudden change of mood in Blaine and frowned when he noticed the shock look on Blaine's face.

"Mum?"

**This chapter was really hard to write because I had writer's block so sorry it took forever. **

**I wanted to show Blaine being happy before chaos erupted again so that's why I put in the gig scene. A few of my friends and my other half used to do gigs and stuff all the time, like longue stuff where they would just sit on a stool and play their guitars so the scene is slightly based off that. I wanted to make it as far away from what Darren Criss would do as possible because I've read lots of stories where Blaine would do something like this but he would sing all the songs that Darren sings, like Not Alone and stuff and it kind of annoys me that people can't see the difference between a character and an actor. I know Darren sings Disney songs as well but in my mind Blaine is a massive Disney fan and so is Amber, so that is why I put in Under the Sea. **

**I think that there is only one chapter left. I want to finish this story now because I have other projects to work on and I feel that this story is dragging a bit now. **

**Please review! **


	9. Chapter 9

Blaine stared at the door of the motel, the number 103 staring back at him. He shivered slightly as a cold breeze blow around him. It was the day after he had got the call from his mother and he was standing there in his Dalton uniform trying to work up the courage to knock on the door. Kurt was behind him and it was getting dark. They had gone home after school to drop Amber off before coming here. Blaine hadn't told his little sister about where they were going because, frankly, he was scared that his mother might just run off again.

"Are you ok?" Kurt asked, placing a warm hand on his back. Kurt had come with him because Blaine had been silently freaking out about this reunion all day yesterday and Kurt had wanted to be here to support him, something Blaine was very grateful for. If Kurt wasn't here then Blaine was sure that he would be staring at this door forever, or he wouldn't have come at all. Blaine nodded, taking a deep breath, and then knocked on the door.

A couple of seconds passed and Blaine could hear movement inside the room. The door opened and Blaine forgot to breathe for a moment.

The first thing he thought was that his mother looked younger, as she looked at him with wide eyes that were already beginning to fill with tears as she saw her son for the first time in years. Her dull eyes that he remembered were now bright and her skin didn't look as tight and worn. She had a glow about her. She looked well kept with tidy clothes and make up on. Blaine couldn't ever remember her with make up on, unless it was to cover her bruises on her face. Her hair was just as beautiful as ever, cut shorter but was shiny and smooth, like he remembered when he was a child.

"Blaine! You've grown so much!" She gasped, putting her hands to her mouth. She seemed unsure of what to do as she took a step forwards. Blaine tensed as he thought she might hug him but she seemed to think better of it and moved aside to let the boys in.

"How have you been?" She asked, as the two teenagers stepped into the small motel room. There was a double bed and a small kitchen area. It looked clean but basic.

"I can't believe you go to Dalton now." She said, a wide smile on her face as she looked at Blaine's uniform, "I'm so proud of you, when I left you were really struggling in school and now you go to the best private school in Ohio."

Blaine nodded, feeling uncomfortable. He noticed that his mother seemed to be rambling a bit, obviously nervous as well.

"Is this your friend?" She asked, looking to Kurt who was standing next to Blaine, their arms just touching as he looked round the room. Kurt smiled politely and held out his hand to shake as Blaine said,

"This is Kurt Hummel." He said, "My... my boyfriend."

Blaine was expecting his mother to react negatively and maybe kick them out. He had been nervous about telling her but he didn't want to hide who he was. Instead she just smiled, taking Kurt's hand and shaking it.

"I'm Donna." She told him. A wave of relief filled Blaine at her response and he felt slightly more comfortable in her presence. It didn't make him any less angry though.

"Do you want a drink?" Donna asked, going to the mini fridge that was in the kitchen area.

"No thank you." Both the boys said in unison as the woman got out some sparkling water. She leant back up and smiled at Blaine, tears still in her eyes. Blaine however was biting back questions and accusations. The mere sight of her was making his skin crawl and he felt like his stomach was bubbling with boiling rage. Kurt reminded him to stay calm though with a soft touch on his back. He had to get through this meeting for Amber.

They all sat round the small table that accomplished the room and there was a silence for a moment while the mother and son got their heads and questions together.

"How did you get my number?" Was the first one that Blaine asked.

"My friend got hold of me, she told me that you went round the house and wanted to see me." Donna started, "I tried calling the house but I got the answering machine; I left a massage but I was scared that your Father would just delete it so I called Dalton and they gave me your call phone number."

"You left a massage on the house phone?" Blaine asked, realising now why his dad had been so angry the other night. It was her fault Amber got hurt. His firsts clutched in his lap as he stared at her.

"Yeah." She said, her voice now small as she looked at Blaine's angry features. He clutched his teeth together, struggling not to scream at her. Kurt seemed to notice and put his hand on Blaine's fists, trying to loosen them.

"Why did you leave?" He asked, needing to get this question out of him. He needed an answer. Donna looked down at her lap, fiddling with the fabric of her skirt.

"I couldn't stand it anymore." She whispered, "I had sunk too low, I needed to get away from him."

"Where did you go?" Blaine asked, not taking his eyes off her.

"I went to the Philippines for year and stayed with my Father's brother and his family." She told him, looking back up at him. Blaine couldn't quite look her in the eye though, so looked at her hair. He had always loved her hair. So unlike his and Amber's.

"You would love it there, Blainey, it is so beautiful." She smiled, a dreamy look on her face, "I'm going to take you and Amber one day."

"What about afterwards?" Blaine asked, ignoring her.

"I came back to America and I got an internship in New York at a real estate office." She said. Her eyes had gone back to her lap as she fiddled with her skirt, "It was tough and I had to get an evening job as a waitress to support myself but it was worth it. I'm quite a successful real estate agent now."

"Did...Did you ever think of us?" Blaine asked, a bare whisper. He felt Kurt's tighten over his fists as he struggled to keep his voice level. Donna looked up into Blaine's eyes and he bit his lip as he realised that her eyes were identical to Amber's.

Despite their Asian heritage, Amber had got most of her looks from their Father. Her blond hair, her curly locks, her freckles that dotted her nose and cheeks and her lackey limbs all mirrored their father's, while Blaine, apart from his curls, looked a lot like their mother. But Blaine could see now that Amber had inherited one thing from their mother. Her eyes were the same shape and the same colour as the woman sitting in front of him. They even had the same eyelashes.

"Always." Donna said, a tear rolling down her smooth cheek, "I thought of you two everyday and I've always regretted leaving you."

"Then why didn't you come back?" Blaine asked, "You could have token us with you."

Donna shook her head, wiping her cheek as more tears fell.

"I was a terrible mother." She said, "I couldn't even concentrate on daily tasks by the time I left, I was too dependent on alcohol, I couldn't even look after myself"

"But you thought Dad could!" Blaine nearly yelled.

"I... I thought you would be safe with him, he had never hit you." Donna confessed. Blaine shook his head in disbelief and pulled up the sleeve of his blazer to reveal the mostly hidden cast.

"He did this by shoving me down the stairs." Blaine told her, his voice laced with rage, "Right from the top, he just pushed me, the doctor thought I might have had a broken neck. I also broke 2 ribs and my face was all bruised from where he had punched me."

Donna winced, shaking her head, not wanting to believe it.

"Last year he smacked my head against the coffee table and then left me unconscious and bleeding in the middle of the room. Amber had to call the ambulance. She was only 11 at the time and she had to deal with her older brother bleeding from the head and the paramedics trying urgently to keep me alive."

Kurt felt sick as he listened to this. Blaine had never been so blunt about the way his father had treated him. He could see that Donna had paled as well, as heavy tears fell down her face. She reached over the table where Blaine's hand was placed. He pulled it away like lightening, glaring at the woman as a sob escaped her mouth in shock.

"He hit me, punched me, kicked me, spat on me because I'm a fucking fag!" Blaine snarled and Kurt flinched as he said that word. It sounded like poison on his tongue.

"I could cope with it all because he never touched Amber." Blaine continued, "But then he kicked me out and Amber was left on her own-I had no idea what he would do to her and that scared me more than anything, even more than sleeping in a dark, empty car park every night."

Donna was visible shaking as she listened to Blaine's words.

"And then Dad heard your voice on the answering machine and got angry again." Blaine told her, his voice just below a yell, "He hit her! He hit her because you left a damn message on the answering machine!"

He stood up, his fists clutched and his eyes dark. He looked down at his mother, glaring at her as she cried.

"So why you were off discovering how beautiful the Philippines are and trying to feel good about yourself, we were here with Dad, who you knew was violent. I had to do your job by raising Amber and looking after your Mum." Blaine was yelling now. Kurt had never seen him this angry before. It was scary to watch and he couldn't imagine how Donna was feeling as she coward underneath his glance.

"You weren't even at the funeral." Blaine said, his voice now breaking, "Your own Mother and you didn't even come to say goodbye."

"I'm...s... sorry." Donna cried, "I was...trying to get...better...to be a better mum."

Blaine shook his head, before pushing his chair back and storming out of the room. Kurt stood up as the door flew open and gave Donna a pitiful look. He couldn't say she didn't deserve this outburst from Blaine but Kurt could tell that she meant what she said about trying to be a better mum. She was just gone about it the wrong way.

"I'll go calm him down." Kurt told her, "He is just angry."

He didn't wait for a reply but followed Blaine out of the room. He found him by the car; his head leaning against the window as he breathed deeply to calm himself.

"I hate her." Kurt heard him say as he approached.

"She wants to make things right." Kurt told him, placing a hand carefully on his back. He was scared that Blaine might blow up again. Blaine looked up, his eyes focusing on Kurt. They were full of angry tears.

"It's not that simple! She left us! Amber was only 8, she didn't understand what was happening." Blaine told him, biting his lip. He sighed, turning around and leaning against the car.

"I understand why she left." Blaine said quietly, "I understand why she had to get away from my father, I'm just pissed off that she didn't take us with her."

Blaine looked slightly defeated as he looked at his feet.

"I hate that I have to ask her for help when I've doing it on my own for pretty much my whole life."

"Why do you have to? You could live with us." Kurt said. Blaine looked up at him, his eyes gentle and a small, sad smile playing at his lip.

"I am very gratefully for everything your family is doing for me and Amber, but the chances of them being able to adopt Amber is very slim, they have to prove they can afford to look after her and with three teenagers already in the house and their mortgage and your Dad's health bills it is highly unlikely." Blaine said, truthfully.

Kurt bit his lip and Blaine could see that he was upset by this bluntness. Also the mention of his father's health always upsets him. Blaine reached out his arms and Kurt moved into them, allowing Blaine to wrap his arms around him.

"And us living together can't be that healthy for our relationship." Blaine told him, "I'm scared that you seeing me all the time will make you bored of me."

"That wouldn't happen." Kurt told him. Blaine laughed gently.

"You say that now by we've only been going out a couple of months, we are still getting to know each other."

Blaine sighed into Kurt's hair, rubbing his back gently as he looked at the motel room that housed his mother at the moment.

"If we move back in with Mum, then I can go to college because I'll know Amber is looked after." Blaine said quietly. He still hated having to depend on his mother, but it probably is the only way to have any kind of normal life.

Kurt moved back and smiled at him softly, cupping his cheek and kissing him, reassuring him that everything was going to be ok.

Once Blaine had paced the length of the car a few times, he had calmed down enough to go back into the room. Kurt was leaning against the wall, while Donna sat on the bed and Blaine looked down at her from where he stood.

"I don't know if I can do it." Donna mumbled, holding a fistful of tissue to her mouth.

Blaine had just told her that the only way for them all to feel safe again is if she gave a statement to the Police about her husband.

"We need to get rid of him." Blaine told her, "We need to feel safe when we go out and when we're sleeping at night."

"But I don't know if I could face him again." She said, her eyes full of fear. Blaine sat down next to her and placed a hesitate hand on her shoulder.

"You need to do this." He told her, "You need to do it for Amber...and me."

Donna looked up at him and nodded slowly, straightening her shoulders to look stronger then she felt.

Everything over the next couple of weeks went really quickly that Blaine found it hard to keep up.

The first thing they did the next day was go to the Police station and report his father for every single thing that he did to them over the years. It was emotionally exhausting for both him and his mother, who spent the whole time crying as she relived the abuse that happened over her marriage with the man. Blaine really did feel sorry for her and seeing his mother's pain again just made him hate his father even more.

After they had finished at the Police station and had got a restraining order against the man, Amber was reunited with her mother. The young girl was a lot more forgiven of her then Blaine was and they behaved like they had spent no time apart.

Their father was arrested and put on bail to await his trail. Donna had hired a very good lawyer who managed to get the man banned from going to the house. As it was a joint deed to the house, Donna wasn't able to sell it yet as was her plan. Her job gave her a very good wage and as she was so well known in New York, she easily transferred to Lima. Even though he would never say this, Blaine was very impressed that she had built such a name for herself in real estate in just 4 years. Kurt told her for him though.

Donna brought a new house in Lima for the three of them to live in. It was just 5 blocks away from Kurt's house, something that caused a lot of happiness for the two boys. Being that close to each other seemed so wonderful and unreal. It was a beautiful house; simple but something the three of them needed desperately. A new start.

They couldn't go back to the old house. It was full of dreadful memories that all of them wanted to forget. Blaine still had to lay with Amber sometimes as she got nightmares of their father coming into the house and hurting them. Blaine still got these nightmares as well but he didn't tell anyone. He knew Kurt knew though. Ever since that drunken night where he told Kurt everything, the brunet had learnt to read him like a book. He seemed to know everything that Blaine was feeling and thinking all the time.

"Are you ok?" Kurt asked him as they laid on a mattress on the floor of the new house. They had spent the day painting the walls of his new bedroom, as well as Amber's, the hallway and the bathroom. They had been too tired to build the bed frame so had just collapsed on the mattress, exhausted from the day's work. The strong smell of paint drafted around them but they didn't care as they snuggled together.

"Yeah, just tired." Blaine mumbled, burying his head in Kurt's chest. The cast on his arm had been taken off the day before so he now had full use of his limbs. His arm seemed a bit weak at the moment and it hurt if he used his wrist too much, but other than that he was happy to have it back to normal.

Kurt kissed Blaine's forehead, smiling as he looked down at him. Blaine looked up, returning the smile. Everything was getting better now and he felt so much happier. His relationship with his mother was slowly growing and Amber seemed brighter. And now he was lying in bed with the boy he was desperately in love with. He still hadn't told Kurt but he was getting more confident now about saying it. He knew that Kurt wouldn't reject him now.

"I'm going to miss you." Blaine told him, rubbing their noses together. He was referring to Kurt going to New York next week for sectionals. Kurt pouted, kissing him before replying.

"I know, but I'll get you a present."

Blaine popped himself up on his elbows and lent down, capturing Kurt's lips with his. Kurt's hand found its way to Blaine's neck, pushing him down slightly so their kiss deepened. Blaine sighed softly on Kurt's lips; the feel of his lips sending pleasant shivers down his spine.

"You taste so good." Kurt breathed and Blaine moaned slightly as he was pulled even closer so he was lying completely on top of Kurt. Blaine felt so happy as Kurt kissed him, running his hand down his slim body and resting his hands on Kurt's hips. Shivers ran through Blaine's body as Kurt ran his hands through his hair, tagging slightly as they both got hot and excited.

"We need to slow down." Blaine whispered onto Kurt's lips. He knew that Kurt wanted their first time to be special and the knowledge that his little sister was right next door was going to make both of them uncomfortable. Kurt stopped his movements and opened his eyes and looked at Blaine with slightly amused eyes. Their lips were still touching and Blaine licked Kurt's slowly. Kurt kissed him again but this time it was slower and Blaine smiled into the kiss, his lips tingling from the feel of Kurt's soft lips pressed against his.

"I've got something special planned." Blaine told him, "We just need someone's parents to go away somewhere so we have an empty house."

Kurt smiled, kissing Blaine again. It was as if he couldn't get enough of his lips. Blaine felt the same way. Kurt's lips were just so sweet and smooth. They felt like heaven pressed against his skin. Blaine lent back down, curling up against Kurt and hugging his arms around Kurt's middle.

"I feel like a teddy bear." Kurt laughed, rubbing Blaine's back in smooth circles. Blaine closed his eyes and smiled, burying himself deeper into Kurt's neck.

"The best teddy bear in the world!" He told Kurt causing the other boy to laugh.

"Good to know." He said, kissing Blaine's hair. They both fell asleep pretty quickly, dreaming of New York, candles and soft mattress.

Blaine sat sniff as a board as he looked at his father who came through the doors of the court. He was lead to a table near the front and sat down. Blaine was left to stare at the back of his head as he felt his mother tense next to him.

It was the start of the summer holidays and his father's trial had begun. They were sitting near the front of the court; their lawyer just in front of them. Amber was sitting on the other side of their mother and Kurt was sitting next to Blaine, with Burt and Finn the other side of him.

Blaine could feel his mother shaking next to him and put a hand over her hand which was clutching the edge of the bench. At the touch, she moved her hand so now she was clutching his hand instead. Amber, who was surprisingly calm, took her other hand and smiled at her mother comfortingly.

"I call to the stand Donna Cheng." Said one of the lawyers, and her grip on her children's hands tightened. Blaine gave her a small smile and she looked at him for a moment, her eyes full of fear. She looked at Amber and a look of realisation came over her. She nodded before standing up and walking slowly to the witness stand.

Amber moved over to Blaine and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a slight squeeze. He watched intently as his mother answered the questions fired at her. Tears ran down her cheeks as she explained the physical and emotional abuse she endured. She was caught off guard as his father's lawyer took over and straight away asked why she abounded her children. Blaine looked at her as she hesitated. She looked to them, where they were sitting. They were both dressed in smart clothes but they still looked so young, especially Amber who was looking nervously at the lawyer. Blaine held her close, trying to protect her from the atmosphere of the court room. It was quite scary and Blaine felt as if there were too many people and not enough air in there.

Donna took a deep breath and looked back to the lawyer.

"I left because at the time I thought I was just as much a danger to them as he was due to my dependence of alcohol, which was my coping mechanising-it made me forget what was happening and it numbed the pain." She told the court, "I left and went to rehab so I didn't need alcohol anymore and I got myself a job so I could support my children."

Donna looked back at Blaine then and he could see the sincerity in her eyes. He gave her a small nod. It was such a simple action but through it Blaine transferred his forgiveness and his gratefulness. Donna noticed and she gave him a smile, wiping her eyes as she did so. With his forgiveness Donna was able to answer the rest of the questions with confidence.

Amber was asked to the stand next. Blaine bit his lip as he watched her walk up to the box. She looked so small in-between the four walls and he could tell she was nervous as she placed her hand on the bible. Their lawyer had told them that seeing such a young girl on the stand would provoke the jury's emotions and they were more likely to find their father guilty. They didn't have a lot of physical evidence to go by; just a few medical reports from Blaine and Donna's trips to the hospitals and a few police reports. So the witnesses were all they had really. The lawyer had managed to get in some of their neighbours and Finn had also been called as a witness, as he had witnessed the attack on Kurt.

Blaine felt a hand on his fist that he hadn't realised he had clutched as he watched Amber answer the questions. He didn't look away from her but he knew that the hand belonged to Kurt. He unclenched his fist and laced their fingers together, glad Kurt was there to keep him calm.

By the time Amber was finished, her calm persona had broken down and she was shaking and crying. Blaine stood up as she came over to them and hugged her tightly.

"Court is adjoined for the day." The Judge called out. She was a women, something that their lawyer said was a good thing because she would sympathise with them more. Blaine smiled at her gratefully and led Amber out. They were closely followed by everyone else. Their lawyer started talking quickly with their mother and Finn, Burt and Kurt came over them.

"You were amazing Am." Finn said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Finn and Amber had grown quite close over the last couple of weeks and Finn was really happy about it because he said that he had always wanted a little sister. They all were like one big, strange family now.

Amber smiled up at Finn, her head resting against Blaine's arm.

"You don't have to do it again." Blaine promised her. Amber nodded, wiping the tears away and trying to hold her head high. She had gone very quiet but after a trip to Breadstix and a hot chocolate from Finn, she cheered up enough to talk freely and cheerfully to everyone. The two families had grown very close and it wasn't unusual to see members from both at each other's houses. Donna always popped into the Hummel-Hudson house for a chat and a cup of coffee with Carole and they met up often for lunch. Amber went round very often to their house after school to bake with Carole and get help with her homework from Kurt. Blaine went round every Sunday after work to watch the highlights of football games with Burt and Finn, as well as going over nearly every day to see Kurt. Finn came round to the Anderson-Cheng house to help decorate and do DIY tasks. Kurt came round just as often as Blaine to see them, and it wasn't unusual for the two families to have dinner with each other round the two houses or at a restaurant; mostly breadstixs. It was a very different atmosphere then when they were living with their father but it was a nice, happy atmosphere and they felt like one big happy family.

Despite her cheerful mood in the evening, that night Amber crept into Blaine's room and curled into bed with him. She was shaking as Blaine pulled her close and hugged her.

"It was horrible seeing him looking at me." Amber told him, "He had this weird smirk the whole way through and it was so creepy."

Blaine rubbed her back as she told him this, feeling angry at their father for making her feel so uncomfortable. The man wasn't going to change any time soon though, if ever.

"After this week we don't ever have to see him again." Blaine told her, a promise he was definitely going to keep. Amber nodded, hugging Blaine tightly.

"Good luck tomorrow." She told him, "You went through a lot more than I did."

Blaine looked slightly confused and she looked up at him.

"He hit me once." She told him, "I lost count how many times he hurt you-I'm really sorry, I always feel bad about it."

Blaine's eyes softened and he shook his head.

"I'm glad he didn't hurt you like he hurt me, it would have broken me even more if you had to go through that." Blaine told her. Amber sighed softly and closed her eyes, her arms hugging Blaine.

"You're the best brother in the world." She whispered before drafting off. Blaine laughed quietly, kissing her forehead before following her to the land of dreams.

Blaine tried to blank out his experience in the witness stand. It definitely was an experience he wanted to forget.

He felt claustrophobic within the four wooden walls. It felt like there was no way out. He felt his father's stare on him as Blaine answered the questions asked, first by his mother's lawyer and then by his father's. The first lawyer was kind and spoke to Blaine as if he was an adult but the second one was cruel and patronising. He tried to twist everything that Blaine was saying and it was very frustrating.

"So if your Father was hurting you why didn't you tell anyone?" The lawyer asked, pacing the space in front of the witness stand. He was looking from Blaine to the jury.

"I was scared that they would take Amber away and put her into care." Blaine said, "And the Police had been called over loads of times because of disruptions caused by my Dad and they still hadn't done anything so I just assumed no one care."

The lawyer turned to Blaine and Blaine felt himself shiver as he noticed how cold his eyes looked.

"But if things were so bad at home wouldn't it be better that Amber was placed in another home?" The lawyer asked. Blaine could hear the accusation in his tone and he knew the lawyer was doing to make Blaine look like the bad guy. He didn't protect his sister and the jury will see that.

"I wouldn't know where she was going." Blaine tried to explain, now turning to the jury, who nearly all had blank expressions, "She could have gone to a much worse place."

"So you admit that it wasn't that bad at home with your Father?" The lawyer asked.

"No! Of course it was!" Blaine said, turning back to him, "He shoved me down the stairs and nearly killed me at least twice."

"But he never touched your sister?"

"No." Blaine said, "Not until that night when I picked her up, she had a massive bruise on her face."

"But you didn't see your dad do it?"

"Well...no." Blaine said, getting angry, "But I know he did it, Amber wouldn't lie, she is the most honest person I know."

"Is it true that you're gay?" The lawyer suddenly asked. Blaine was caught off guard by the sudden and off topic question and his mouth fell open slightly.

"Object!" The other lawyer yelled, standing up, "What does Blaine's sexual orientation have to do with this case?"

"Withdrawn." His father's lawyer said but Blaine could see the smile on his face. The damage was already done.

Blaine had been warned that this may happen. The jury would look less favourable on Blaine if they knew he was gay. It was a harsh fact but it was true. Some people may think that it was his fault that his father beat him because he is a gay.

Blaine bit his lip as he looked at the jury. The majority of them where guys and Blaine knew that the court had tried to get people that weren't parents as that may bias their decision. Therefore there was a lack of motherly warmth on the jury and Blaine knew that this may not help them win their case. He just hoped that they believed them.

As Blaine stepped off the stand he couldn't help but look at his father who was staring back, a smirk on his lips. His eyes were dark and a chill went up Blaine's back as he looked at him. Just looking at him sent a wave of fear through Blaine and the man knew that. But Blaine wasn't going to let him scare him anymore.

So Blaine stared back, holding eye contact and keeping his head high and proud. He was going to show the man that he wasn't that scared little boy anymore.

Inside though, Blaine was feeling petrified. Court was adjoined for the day and they left for home again. Blaine shut off as Kurt led him out to the car. He wanted to forget his father's face and the cruel, cold stare. He wanted to forget the humiliation of being asked about his private life in front of such a large crowd and he wanted to forget all the questions and accusations that were thrown at him. He just wanted to forget it all.

He was quiet as they drove home, just staring out of the window blankly. Kurt's hand was entangled with his but he barely felt it as Kurt slowly rubbed his thumb against Blaine's skin. Blaine was tired and worn out and he just wanted this court case to end. Tomorrow was the last day and the jury had to come up with a decision by then. Blaine was really nervous about it and he just wanted it to be over.

He was also quiet during dinner, which Carole had made while they were at court, but no one seemed to notice. Amber and his mother also looked quiet tired and wary and Amber went to bed early to avoid having to stay up to think about tomorrow's verdict. Blaine helped tidy up before he felt himself being dragged gently away.

Kurt led him up to his room and sent the door before turning to look at him. Blaine looked down at his feet for a second before he felt tears form in his eyes and fall quickly down his cheeks. Before he even realised that he had started to cry, Kurt's arms were around him and Blaine was sobbing into his chest.

"I'm sorry." Blaine cried, ashamed to be crying in front of Kurt again.

"It's ok." Kurt told him softly, rubbing his back gently in smooth circles, "It's ok to cry, Blaine, it's been a very tough year for you."

Blaine nodded, his whole body heaving in heavy sobs. He hid his face from Kurt by burying into his shirt and clutching it with tight fists. Normally Kurt would tell him off for messing up his clothes but right now he let Blaine cry and held him close.

Eventually Blaine calmed down and his tears slowed. The cry had helped him sort his thoughts out. He didn't feel as empty now and he was glad that Kurt had allowed him to have the moment of weakness.

Sometime during the cry Kurt had led Blaine to the bed and had rocked him gently to calm him. Blaine was now curled up in Kurt's lap, his head resting on the boy's chest.

"It will all be over tomorrow." Kurt whispered to him. Blaine nodded, hiccupping slightly, before straightening up and losing in the tie that felt like it was strangling him. He threw it onto the floor and unbuttoned the first few buttons, looking at Kurt with red rimmed eyes. Kurt looked back with a look of sad admiration.

"I have something for you." Kurt said, stroking Blaine's arm in long slow strokes. Blaine raised his eyebrows in interest and wiped his eyes.

"What is it?" He asked, his voice slightly croaked. Kurt smiled and got up off the bed.

"I need to burrow your guitar." He told Blaine, who looked even more interested now. He sat crossed legged on the bed and watched Kurt pick up his guitar from the corner of the room and walk back over to the bed. He sat down on the edge of the bed next to Blaine and positioned the guitar on his lap, streaming slightly.

"Finn has been teaching me how to play." Kurt told him proudly, "I only know a few songs at the moment, but I've been practising this one song over and over again because I really want to play it to you." He lent his forehead against Blaine's and smiled as they breathed the same air.

"I can't believe how much you've been through and I think you're so amazing for handling it as you have, but I know you don't think that way." Kurt said. Blaine bit his lip as Kurt continued,

"It hurts when I hear you talk about yourself." Kurt told him, his own eyes moist with unshed tears, "I hate that you can't see how amazing and wonderful you are, you're a great brother, a great son and a great friend."

Blaine looked away at this, shaking his head slightly. He didn't feel like he was any of these things. Kurt cupped his chin and turned his head so they were looking at each other again.

"You are." Kurt told him, "And I knew you wouldn't believe me so I'm going to let one of your favourite artists tell you instead."

Kurt withdrew his hand and started strumming the guitar before he started to sing.

**Made a wrong turn  
>Once or twice<br>Dug my way out  
>Blood and fire<br>Bad decisions  
>That's alright<br>Welcome to my silly life**

Blaine felt his breath catch as Kurt began to sing. Blaine loved this song, and Kurt singing it was amazing. His unusual voice fit the tone really well.

**Mistreated, misplaced, missunderstood  
>Miss, no way it's all good<br>It didn't slow me down  
>Mistaken<br>Always second guessing  
>Underestimated<br>Look, I'm still around…**

**Pretty, pretty please  
>Don't you ever, ever feel<br>Like you're less than  
>less than perfect<br>Pretty, pretty please  
>If you ever, ever feel<br>Like you're nothing  
>You are perfect to me<strong>

Kurt looked directed at Blaine as he sang. He meant every word that he was singing and Blaine could see that in his eyes. He had such a look of fierce determination.

**You're so mean  
>When you talk<br>About yourself  
>You are wrong<br>Change the voices  
>In your head<br>Make them like you  
>Instead<strong>

When Kurt sang this line Blaine looked away, feeling the weight of the words. Kurt nudged his shoulder against his to make him look at him. Kurt smiled softly and continued. Blaine leant against him, listening to the words and the soft voice.

**So complicated  
>Look how big you'll make it<br>Filled with so much hatred  
>Such a tired game<br>It's enough  
>I've done all i can think of<br>Chased down all my demons  
>see you do the same<strong>

**Pretty, pretty please  
>Don't you ever, ever feel<br>Like you're less than  
>less than perfect<br>Pretty, pretty please  
>If you ever, ever feel<br>Like you're nothing  
>You are perfect to me<strong>

Kurt turned his head and leant their foreheads together as he sang the last verse. He sang it quieter, only strumming the guitar a few times. Blaine looked into his blue eyes, which were shining, and smiled as their tears mixed together on their cheeks.

**You are perfect to me  
>You're perfect<br>You're perfect to me  
>Pretty, pretty please if you ever ever feel<br>like you're less than, less than perfect  
>Pretty, pretty please if you ever ever feel<br>like you're nothing  
>you are perfect to me<strong>

The last words were so soft that only Blaine could hear them. They rang softly in his ears as Kurt leant forward and kissed Blaine so softly he felt like crying all over again. He could feel the love being transferred from Kurt's heart into him. It felt like heaven.

"I love you." Kurt whispered on his lips and Blaine opened his eyes to look at him, shocked. This was the first time that Blaine had heard Kurt say these words and it made him feel so happy. He could see the love in Kurt's eyes as he looked back at him, a hand gently caressing Blaine's cheek.

"I love you too." Blaine told him, smiling through his tears.

No more words were needed as they lied back onto the bed. Those simply words were all that mattered as they held each other and fell asleep.

"We find the defendant guilty."

After these words were spoken Blaine didn't hear anything else. He felt his shoulders relax and his hands rise to his mouth in disbelief as his mother started to cry with relief and his sister hugged him tightly. He saw Burt glare at his father with a very satisfied look on his face and Kurt wrapped his arms round Blaine and Amber as their father was lead out of the court room to be put behind bars. Donna looked at Blaine and put her hands on his cheeks as tears rolled delicately down her face.

"It's over." She said, and tears started to form in Blaine's eyes as she brought him towards her and hugged him tightly. Blaine closed his eyes as he buried his face in her hair and breathed in her motherly scent.

_It was over. _

_**One year later**_

"Stop daydreaming and help me." Kurt laughed, breaking Blaine's thoughts. He turned around and smiled as he looked at his boyfriend. Kurt was dressed in grey overalls with the arms tied around his waist, a white t-shirt that was splinted with paint. He was holding a paint roller that was covered with light blue paint. His hair was sticking up and an arm was placed on his hip, a smile on his face as he looked back at Blaine.

"I'm sorry." Blaine told him, walking over and kissing him on the lips gently. Blaine had been staring out of the window, watching the boats below him on the bay. They had just moved to New York and were suppose to be decorating their apartment. His mother had brought them the small but comfortable apartment from the money that she had got from selling their old house.

Blaine liked to think of it as selling all of his bad memories so he can get new, happy ones in this apartment in this city with the person he loves.

"We should get some cushions for the window seat." Blaine told Kurt as they started painting the walls again.

"So you can daydream so more?" Kurt laughed, looking at him.

"I like watching water." Blaine told him, sticking out his tongue, "It's peaceful."

He felt Kurt smiling at him and turned to him, returning the smile. He then touched his paint brush to Kurt's nose, wetting his skin with blue paint.

"Hey!" Kurt gasped. He tried wiping the paint off but it just smudged some more. Blaine doubled over in laughter as he looked as the paint spread across Kurt's face.

"It's not funny!" Kurt told him, a look of mock angry on his face. He then launched forward and grabbed Blaine around the middle, before smearing paint across his face and neck.

"Stop!" Blaine laughed, fighting against Kurt's hold. He gave up and spun around to look at him. Kurt still had a slight glare in his eyes but it softened as he looked at Blaine. He wrapped his arms around Kurt and leant in to brush their noses together.

"I'm so glad I'm here with you." Blaine whispered, staring into Kurt's blue eyes. The paint matched them perfectly and was the reason Blaine had chosen the shade to go in their new living room. A blush formed along Kurt's cheeks, making Blaine chuckle quietly as he leaned in to kiss Kurt again.

"I love you." He told Kurt and they both smiled.

"I love you too Blaine Anderson."

They stood together, arms wrapped around each other and covered in drying paint. It didn't bother them though as today was the first day of the rest of their lives. A happy life filled with love, kisses, hugs and laughter.

And Blaine couldn't wait.

**Oh my God! This is over! **

**I'm so sorry it took forever but I've been crazy busy the last month and I suck at endings so I didn't want to rush this. I got major writer's block and I didn't want to force an ending because I knew it would be rubbish. I mean, more rubbish than this because this was a pretty crappy last chapter. I just wanted to sum it all up and make sure that everyone had a happy ending so here it is. **

**Ok, so the senior year bit. I had two ideas about where Blaine went and I shall put them in this bit so you can decide as the reader what happened. **

**Wes and David offer to pay half of Blaine's tuition each so he can go back to Dalton. I imagine their parents are really rich so it would be ok. Blaine goes back to Dalton because in my heart that is where he belongs, and he becomes one of the Head Warblers. **

**He still gets the offer from Wes and David but he decides to go to McKinley and it plays out like season 3 is. I think also it is a better excuse to transfer then what the show has given us. He joins New Directions and he spends the year making out under the bleachers with Kurt. :D **

**The song used in this was You are prefect by Pink, the acoustic version. In my head this scene was beautiful and touching but I don't know how it transformed onto the page. In the last chapter I forgot to say, the song was Crystal Ball by Pink. **

**The last scene with the paint was inspired by this picture: .com/gallery/#/d4bfm1p by muchacha10 who is (I'm sure most of you know) the most amazing Klaine artiest I've seen. I was going to end with them in the apartment, I just didn't know how, and then I saw this and I thought it was perfect. **

**Thanks for everyone that followed this and please, please, please review! I really want to know how I did. **

**Thank you again.**

**Nuk**


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